


In Another World 1: Pride Before the Fall

by LadyMarissaGarmadon



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: AU, Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Betrayal, Death, F/M, Family, Fighting, Friendship, Heartbreak, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Ninjago, Ninjas - Freeform, Role Reversal, Romance, War, Weapons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2019-09-15 08:39:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 83,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16930032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMarissaGarmadon/pseuds/LadyMarissaGarmadon
Summary: Garmadon and Wu never got along, not since the younger was bitten by the Great Devourer 18 years ago anyways. They are forced to work through their long standing family problems if they want to survive the dragging war against the Serpentine and become the heroes they were born to be, but as they say, it's the pride before fall.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference if you're confused, before Ray and Maya's names were made canon when I first wrote the original fics, my headcanonned names for them were Kasai and Namiko and they kind of just stuck, so those are the names I decided to keep on using. So they are Ray and Maya, Kai and Nya's parents, but with my pre-season 7 names. Also, Jay is not adopted since again, when translating the old fic to the new fics... plus I thought that part of season 6 was kinda bullshitty... this is an AU though so whatever, it doesn't matter really since this isn't canon anyways, don't @ me lol. 
> 
> And if you like the fic, by all means tell me :)

In the land of Ninjago, there were protectors, great warriors with elemental abilities that would stand to protect against the forces of darkness. Some hid in the shadows and others would lead armies, nonetheless, these fighters were legendary heroes of their time even if they were few. 

Some of the most notable were a pair of brothers, the children of the one who was like a god among the mortals, the one that granted power to the worthy. 

The eldest of these two was Garmadon, a daring, snarky, hot headed warrior, but was one of the greatest fighters who was considered a very good leader. He would be the one to shoulder the responsibility and meet the expectations of his father or else he would be punished and treated like a child. In his father’s eyes, he was the class clown, the defiant child, but everyone loved him all the same. He was known as a master of destruction, taking up the ways of shadow and flame.

The youngest was his brother, Wu, a distant, odd child that made others know he didn’t exactly like the general public. He was almost as strong as his brother, certainly better in the fields of agility and sneaking around with silent strikes. He was the kiss up, the silent and devious one, albeit reluctantly obedient. Ironically, he was the exact opposite of his brother, a master of creation.

The next that would fall in line were their friends, the ones who had lived with them throughout their childhood. The student of fire, Kasai Blackman, the student of water, Namiko Atin, the student of Ice, Tanaka Fujiyoka, the student of lightning, Edna, and the students of earth, Rose and her cousin, Misako. 

The behaved like any normal teenagers would. They were all loud, rowdy; obnoxious in the eyes of the far greater generals and masters of their elements. Wu, for being one of the youngest, surprisingly didn’t fit in with them. In fact, he hated the ruckuses they would cause… though that was not always the case.

In the current state, you never could have guessed that Wu was once a proud member of their little class, considering them all his best friends; until the bite. 

This isn’t the world of Ninjago as you knew it though. Garmadon never retrieved the sword that that was flung over the gates and into the world outside the monastery. Wu took it upon himself to quickly go out and grab the sword before their father could ever hear about it. It was his brother’s greatest regret for encouraging him to be braver. 

The ancient devil snake, said to be the pet of the mysterious Overlord that once tried to consume Ninjago in darkness, had a poisonous venom that would kill a normal mortal, but for the child of an elemental, why it would do even worse than bring death; it would corrupt them, deteriorating their life and mental state slowly and painfully until they would be just like the Overlord. 

Wu was six when this happened, his brother, almost nine. It was that day he grew to hate the people that was his family. His father reluctantly babied him, his friends avoided him and he liked it that way. 

In another world, in another life, the younger brother would be the dark lord and the older, the master who tried to do what was right.


	2. Chapter 1

All was not peaceful in the land of Ninjago; hundreds of warriors of all backgrounds and elements gathered at the heart of the country to band together to face yet another threat to their homeland; that would be the strange, scaly mistakes that Masuta had called the Serpentine. They were becoming more and more ravenous and decided that the land arrangements that had been agreed upon decades ago were no longer good enough for them, and so they revolted against the surface dwellers.

The old Master of Spinjitsu finally banded all of his followers and students together to finally push back this impending threat since the Serpentine had already begun to claim territory and remove the human inhabitants who tried to fight back, even if it meant killing them and burning their towns to the ground to make way for their own kind; they had no conscience when it came to human casualties.

It would be very vital to have as many elemental masters as possible be enlisted to aid in the war effort, even if it meant some would still be quite young, which of course included two very important people: Masuta’s two sons, Garmadon and Wu.

The Mountain of Impossible Heights, Hikari Village, April 1982

“Oh come on, leave him alone if he won’t come out! It’s like poking a sleeping bear with a stick!” the young man with the dark hair shouted at the older one who was lingering at the front door of their home. “Garmadon! Let’s go! We have to meet the other masters! I don’t wanna be yelled at again by my grandma for being late!” He gripped his katana tighter in his hand as he frowned more. 

“I’m twenty-four years old Kas; I’m not gonna be pushed around and told what to do like that,” the brunette in question looked over his shoulder with a cocky smile. “You think my father will punish me for being a couple minutes late in front of the order of elementals? We have plenty of time to get into town! I’m just trying to make sure we all get there.” 

Kasai grimaced at the need to include the other’s brother, lowering his voice now, “You of all people know how Wu acts towards us all now; he doesn’t see us as friends anymore,” he trailed off. “Do you really want him fighting in the field with us? This is kind of important; you know. What if he decides he doesn’t want to be on our team anymore and starts… attacking us?”

Garmadon sighed and started walking down the steps, through the gates with his friend, “I guess you’re right Kas; there’s just no changing Wu it seems; I just think that if I keep trying maybe he’ll act like his old self again,” he looked back to see a pair of red eyes were glaring at them through the window. It sent a shiver up his spine seeing it. “I guess I do need to accept that he’s just not the same.”

The two finally reached the small camp gathering filled with countless other people enlisted; intently watching as the two walked in, fashionably late, as always. “So I believe that is everyone then,” one of the older women was looking down a small chart. “Everyone’s all accounted for now,” she promptly nodded, “Good!” 

“Um, well; I believe not all is accounted for; Wu wouldn’t come you see,” Garmadon bit his lip, looking at his feet; wondering what kind of reaction the others would have.

Surprisingly; everyone seemed rather relieved by this news, “Thank the gods that Wu didn’t show up,” some started murmuring to one another. “That boy is nothing but a problem; he’s worse more than his brother and the other students.” 

“Hey,” Kasai looked upset when hearing that remark. “We’re not that bad,” he mumbled under his breath as he shuffled over to where his grandmother was.

“Alright, that’s enough everyone,” Masuta cleared his throat, also looking towards his oldest son. “We all understand Wu’s done questionable things in the past when in intense situations, but I’m sure he’ll come around and be fine, but I don’t think that’s why we’re all here today.” 

The room was completely silent as he talked on about what their plans were and who would be stationed where. To be honest, there were not nearly as many elemental masters as there were Serpentine warriors, not by a long shot, but they all were hoping they would be strong enough to take them on. 

“Okay then everyone, look to the chart posted outside to know your positions and where you will be stationed until we can gather exact information on what land we’ve lost and where the snakes are camping out,” Masuta clapped his hands twice and the meeting seemed to be adjourned for now. 

Most of the younger, still in training masters gathered around on some of the benches inside, discussing what could possibly be in store for all of them. This was their first actual war, and they had absolutely no idea what they were getting into with this whole mess. 

“So where do you think we’ll be placed? Masuta hasn’t even officially graduated us yet!” Namiko, the young master of water, asked as she pulled her skirt down more and toyed with the ends of it; she seemed incredibly nervous to be separated from her friends in this crisis. 

“I highly doubt that we will be split very far apart, after all, we are the youngest ones in the ranks, there’s no way we will be thrown to the warzones quickly if our training isn’t fully seen as complete. I noticed that most masters are being split up so there’s no more than two of an element on a team,” Tanaka quietly spoke up, more or less mumbling to himself as he brushed his nose. 

Garmadon chuckled, “See? We won’t get split up. Everything will be perfectly fine as long as we get to kick ass together. I personally look forward to offing those ungrateful snakes.” 

From out of nowhere another girl came bounding over with an eager grin on her face. “Hey everyone!” she had thick framed glasses and dark brown hair that was pulled back into a messy ponytail. “I just saw our placements!” 

“Oh boy; hey Edna, I thought I saw you come in earlier with your mother,” Misako couldn’t help but chuckle as her friend hugged her tightly first; she was certainly a friendly one compared to most masters there today. Then again, would you be smiling if you knew you had the possibility of dying soon? “What about where we’re placed?”

“Oh yes!” Edna released the other. “I saw that we were stationed in mountain region! Here in Hikari and Jumonokai! Isn’t this all so exciting?! Ed and I have been developing all sorts of explosives for this upcoming fight and these mountainous areas will be perfect to cause some avalanches!” There seemed to be sparks of electricity around her, being some of her loose hairs started sticking up, which would happen during her moments of excitement. 

“Wait, Ed? He doesn’t have an element; Masuta just let him sign up for this?” Rose blinked. “I thought we were limiting the amount of civilians that were allowed to join the army and making them go through all sorts of training tests! We all remember the tales of the Stone War I think?” Everyone collected shuddered upon remembering stories their great-grandparents would recall and how so many people died in it because they weren’t strong enough. It was a bloody massacre, and that was putting it lightly. 

Kasai just looked a bit relieved to hear that they wouldn’t be too far from home; ignoring this whole thing about civilians and war. “Well, I better run, I finally get to use my sharp swords for once and I gotta make sure they’ll cut through a snake’s hide in one swing! Even the Constrictai and Anacondrai!” He dashed off without another word. 

“Still,” Garmadon let out a tired sigh, “I can’t stop thinking about Wu in all of this; you know he’ll have to be joining us in outings soon. Father seems to want to ensure that,” he folded his arms and leaned back against a nearby tent pillar. “I’d be lying to myself if I said I didn’t want him around at all, I just want it to be like it was.”

Misako placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. “Hey, don’t worry about Wu; let’s look on the bright side! You’re father obviously trusts us completely with this war right? We’re defending our home front right now, the last line of defense for the civilians and refugees of Ninjago City and that’s all we should have to be worrying about!” 

A laugh came from the old man in question as he passed by the young men and women gathered, “Oh no; it’s because I don’t trust you at all and your reckless powers, so you’re all staying here where I can keep a better eye on you!” He shook his head, continuing his laughter as he exited the other side of the tent while receiving angry glares from his kids. 

He wasn’t wrong though about why they needed to be watched: Edna loved exploding things, Rose could break your arm giving a high-five, Kasai was a pyromaniac and sword fanatic, Namiko would bitch-slap literally anyone who decided to get slightly on her bad side, Tanaka could freeze a room full of people when you wouldn’t pay attention to what he was saying, Garmadon had a short attention span who liked to pull pranks with his shadow powers, and Misako could actually level a mountain. 

They were all deemed as terrifying by the other masters, almost no one wanted to work with them anyways for fear of getting maimed, which was the other reason they were away from the older masters. It was just a bad mix to have.

“Well, let’s,” Misako got up first and started on out. “We won’t be of any help wasting time here I guess! Let’s go back up to the monastery!” The green eyed girl smiled to herself; though she was a bit weary to be seeing Wu again so soon, and it just so happened that they were greeted by him when they all walked through the gates. 

He was just sitting there on the porch, cross-legged and playing around with a ninja-to while staring at them as they entered. Surprisingly, it was nothing really out of the ordinary for him; it was almost liked he enjoyed being left out of the group all the time. “Welcome back.” he quietly said.

“You should have gone with us you know,” Tanaka began to lecture the younger blonde, completely unafraid like the others were. “As a son of Masuta it is your duty to show up to such events to rally support! How selfish of you to sit around a goof off.” Wu just let out a laugh that irritated the other more. “You are quite hopeless if you think this is all some kind of joke. We could very well die tomorrow. You included.”

The other shrugged and kept his eyes on Misako who avoided his gaze now, feeling uncomfortable. “She didn’t want me there though. Isn’t that right Koko? I wouldn’t doubt it if the rest of you agreed with her.” He leaned back.

“Don’t call me that or any other cute little name, you lost the right to after pretty much throwing Garmadon and Rose to the dream demons on the escort mission to the Wailing Alp’s Temple of Serenity four years ago,” she looked up and met his red eyes when he glanced back. She quickly walked past him to get inside; hands clenched into fists. “And Tanaka is right; start pulling your weight for once because we’re the ones that have to pick up your slack.”

Wu just smirked a bit; it was almost like a game in his mind, this war didn’t matter. “She’ll come around I’m sure,” he looked to the older sibling next, kind of joking from the sound of it, but who knew anymore. He had a very obvious crush on Misako since they were kids. “I’d hate for you to get everything you want.” Misako now just rolled her eyes as she stood in the doorway. Not this shtick again.

“And you’ll just have to try and convince her yourself I’m the wrong choice.” Garmadon shot back, shaking his head. “You really just don’t get it Wu.” He sighed. “I’ve tried being nice to you, we all have, but you’re still a jerk to us despite that.” He said in a defeated voice. “Just stay away from my girlfriend.”

His brother shrugged once more while yawning, lounging back a bit. “Whatever you say brother dearest.” He watched the others enter the monastery, not smiling anymore. “So did anyone ask for me at the meeting Kasai?” he asked his supposed closest friend who walked by. “You don’t have to lie, they were glad I stayed here, huh? Not just Misako.”

The fire ninja shrugged his shoulders next, glancing down as he recalled. “Well you’re not that far off dude.” It was unfortunate to be honest; Kasai did actually miss his friend, but it was rare he wasn’t treated as a hostile.

“Yeah; so if you decided you wanted to join, well, don’t look for such a warm welcome if you’re gonna be a brat about everything, like usual,” Rose scoffed next, slamming the door shut behind her. “How could you be friends with him and treat him so nicely!?” She quietly grumbled to Kasai as she pulled him in. 

Wu turned his head back, away from the door and went back to flipping the short sword in his hand. “If only they could be in my head for just a moment.” He sighed, sticking the blade into the wooden porch before getting up to find something else to do.

 

“You need to chill out,” Garmadon grabbed Misako’s shoulder, pulling her to stop in the hallway. “I get that he can be annoying, especially since he’s always bugging you and trying to get your attention, but you shouldn’t chew him out like that over a nickname. We all call you that.”

“No, you call me Koko, that’s your name for me and he knows it,” she folded her arms. “I still don’t even wanna hear “Mimi” from him anymore,” Misako huffed, but her angry look vanished quickly and she actually looked sad. “I can’t take living in the same house with him since he snapped. Every mission with him since then has been a nightmare; nothing we do is ever good enough.”

Garmadon nodded, “I get it, I really do, but he’s still my brother,” he looked back towards the front of the house. “If none of you are going to believe he can still be normal again, then I should at least. Don’t you think?”

“He doesn’t deserve it when he treats you garbage. Just last week he actually bit you for eating the last of the cereal; you still have the teeth marks!” she grabbed her boyfriend’s arm and pulled the sleeve back to reveal the wound on his left forearm. “He’s twenty-one years old and he bit you like a toddler!” Misako reemphasized; concerned that her boyfriend didn’t seem to also be concerned over that. “He used to be my best friend, he felt like more of a brother to me than my own and it’s like all of that time never happened.”

“I know,” Garmadon sighed. 

She went on more, “and you know he only started getting that crush on me since you told me you liked me! All of sudden he treated it like some kind of competition because he realized how close you and I were!” 

“I know,” he grabbed her shoulders. “But you know that if I was in his position, he’d be there for me even if I acted like an asshole to him.” He poked her side, “And I know you would be there for me too if I acted like a jerk.”

Misako snorted. “You’d like think that wouldn’t you! Maybe Wu would be by your side, but no way would I if you acted like that!” She poked him back. “I don’t date jerks!”

“Yet here we are,” Garmadon teased her more. “You’re saying that a lil’ venom in my blood wouldn’t make you even more attracted to me?”

She rolled her eyes as he went on. “I mean, you’re still the hotter brother and for sure the more romantic one, but don’t you think I wouldn’t want to deal with the stress of being with a guy like that? I can barely handle you as you are now.” She smirked. 

“You say that now,” he picked her up, “but you’re a lot nicer and more forgiving than you think Koko,” he kissed her cheek. 

“Fiiine,” Misako rolled her eyes. “I’ll try to be nicer if you think I should be.”

“That’s my girl.” 

 

The next day was an early start; all the ninja who were the students of the First Spinjitsu Master lined up in the courtyard of the monastery. It was a gloomy day outside and it appeared to start drizzling. Even Wu was out there surprisingly; ready to receive instructions like a good student. 

“I want to take this moment to appreciate how mature you have turned out to be and I actually do have some faith you will be of help to the older masters like myself in this struggle,” the graying man addressed them. “Give it a little time and I’m positive you’re all going to be put out in the field to do great things. The first team is being sent in right now to scope out what those Serpentine have been doing to our towns and cities they have yet to demolish beyond the mountain range up north, but rumor has it that there are sightings of others close by; looking to strike us here to disorient us or at least gather information on us themselves.” 

“So you need us to secure the borders of the camp and ensure that Hikari Village will not be compromised right now and that they have nothing to report about us?” Tanaka raised his hand and Masuta nodded. “I think we can handle that master; we’ve handled similar things like this before, so it’ll be quick work.”

“Exactly,” the old man agreed. “Misako is charge with Tanaka as her second and I don’t want too much damage to be caused; the villagers haven’t caught wind of the rumor and I don’t really want them to worry or go into a panic until we’re certain. So please, keep it quiet and try not to look conspicuous.”

Everyone but Misako and Tanaka collectively groaned at the order that had been given. “Misako’s always put in charge though when we go on missions and Tanaka just lets her call all the shots and is a stiff! That’s not fair!” Kasai snapped, pointing to the far more responsible girl. 

“Yes, she is always in charge since she’s the strongest and the only level-headed one out of you lot, Tana just knows when to step back when a good plan is presented; now don’t question me!” Kasai shut his mouth grumpily.

Garmadon was the first one to accept and bowed to his father. Of course he would be alright with this plan, because Misako would let him have time to be in charge and do what he wanted. “Yes father; we’ll do as you say and complete this task.”

“Kiss-ass,” Wu snorted under his breath; not bowing unlike the others. “Trying to take my spot as dad’s favorite or something?” 

“Wu, come now, why do you always pulling this? Just do what I ask.” Masuta placed a hand on the blonde’s head. “I know you are very capable of doing a good job.” He tried to encourage.

Garmadon leaned over and whispered even quieter, “At least I’m not actually a daddy’s boy. It’s not a look I’d ever desire.” He smirked.

Shut up!” Wu elbowed the older who did the same right back.

“Pfft, yeah, if only he was that encouraging with us though,” Edna said under her breath, though she snorted with a bit of laughter that drew attention of the master. 

“Miss Grey?” Masuta looked back over at her. 

“Nothing sir!” She shouted and hid behind Namiko and Garmadon promptly. 

Wu glanced back over to the others in the group; he was trying to hide a wry smile as his father’s attention was off of him again. Trying not to laugh at Edna’s scared reaction.

“Ugh, all of you just go before I remember that it’s a completely crazy idea to let you be allowed to enlist in a war.” The old man shook his head, pointing for the gates.


	3. Chapter 2

Blossom Forest, April 1982

Misako clenched her teeth as she angrily chucked stones into the lake; no longer even attempting to try to skip them. “Your father’s an asshole you know,” she growled; turning her back on the water and closed her eyes. “We can save millions of lives and Wu will still be the only one that gets praised while we get scolded for one little thing out of line that we did while saving said people; Edna was right, no one will ever give a shit about us! We’ll be stuck here forever! Knowing your dad, he’ll outlive us all!”

Namiko lowered her head as she gently played with the waves of the huge lake. “There’s nothing we can do about it; all we can do is try our best and hope good will come out of it. Who cares if Masuta gives us recognition? People can still think for themselves and acknowledge our skills.” Her brown eyes looked up at the green clothed girl as she released the water. She looked over her shoulder to see Garmadon was sitting, curled up on a rock. “Right?”

“Koko’s right…” he finally spoke with a heavy sigh, “My father will never let us leave this blasted monastery; we’re adults and he thinks we’re still his little novice students!” His eyes lit up with anger. “The moment this war is over I’m running away and exploring and traveling; anything to get away for good where I won’t have to see that bastard again,” he exhaled at last. “Who’s in?”

His girlfriend smiled more and walked over to him. “Count me in for sure,” she lifted her hand to hold his. “I’ll go with you anywhere!” 

“I can finally finish my blacksmith studies and open a shop up like I always wanted!” Kasai grinned wider; finally joining the conversation as he sat next to the older shadow ninja. “Then I think I’m gonna hook up with a certain brown eyed girl,” the fire ninja leaned back, looking slightly past Garmadon just in time to see Namiko blush fiercely at his proposition. “Come on; you know you want it.” He winked.

“Well if this is a marriage proposal, it’s a freaking bad time and setting!” She covered part of her face with her long hair, embarrassed she was still blushing. 

“Now is not the time to think about a future after the war that may never come to pass,” Tanaka interrupted calmly, but he caught himself when he realized it would probably bring the others down. “I’m sorry; that’s the last thing you need to hear when we’re diving headfirst into this kind of mess.”

“Hey you’re a realist; it’s fine. I know things look hopeless too; as a leader, it’d be wrong to ignore that fact,” Misako sighed; waving her hand and leaned, half sitting on the big rocks by the edge of the lake. “I just hope that we see some action, because I will not hesitate to destroy every single snake that comes in my path.”

Garmadon slid off the rock he was on and nodded, pulling her close, “You’re so hot when you talk like that,” he smirked cockily at her. 

“Barf,” Namiko snorted jokingly. “I’m starting to think you say those dumb, cheesy things just to annoy us all.”

“Oh no, I’m one hundred percent serious when I say that stuff,” The shadow master chuckled, kissing his girlfriend’s cheek, “Let’s just go home and get some sleep; Rose and Edna are probably out already! Plus, I uh, also want to get back before my dad returns from his meeting and sees we’re not there ready to report in. Though we didn’t see shit in the village like I was expecting and he probably already knows,” he started walking; shoving his hands in his jeans pockets, looking at his feet as he walked. 

 

Back up the mountain, the remaining girls were waiting on the front porch, looking kind of upset until they noticed the other five coming through the gates. “Oh; there you guys are,” Edna looked at Garmadon. “He wants to talk to you apparently.” She nodded her head back towards the monastery doors. “Sorry, we tried covering for you, but Wu said where you all were.”

“Damn it,” Garmadon cursed under his breath as he walked past the others, up the steps and back inside. “Hello father,” he rolled his head back when he shut the sliding door behind him, dreading this conversation. “What would you like to discuss with me?”

Masuta looked his son down, up, seeing the dirt on his pants and arms. “You’re filthy,” he mumbled with that same type of disapproval that he always had. “You need to stop horsing around with the others in the forest when you should be training to do the jobs I am giving you.” He folded his arms in his sleeves. “Anyways; I wanted you to know that Hypnobrai have been overtaking some of the others that were sent out beyond Hikari.”

“Aaand?” the oldest son raised an eyebrow; not quite sure what he was saying here. 

His father pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up, “You and the others are going to handle this for me since Rose and Edna reported a fair job done with your investigation on the rumors; you seemed to have been quite thorough and no one was alerted the possible threat.”

Garmadon straightened up more; he felt lighter, happier about this sudden news and hearing a form of praise directed at him for once. “I- thank you!” he started smiling more. “I’m all over it!” he admitted and ran back outside. “Guys! You’ll never believe this!” 

Back inside; Wu had peaked from around the corner to look at his father in silence before deciding to speak. “And what about me? Am I allowed to go too?” His red eyes flashed as he asked his question.

Masuta patted the youngest’s head, “No son; not this time. You’ll get your chance soon enough, I promise,” He tiredly smiled. “I can’t have everyone going out and leaving me and the monastery all alone.”

Wu looked away from the old man, trying to hide his irritated expression.

 

The following morning, the seven young men and women were packed up, waiting to say goodbye to their teacher as always before heading out; they would be traveling more north to the small belt across the main river where cities like Astor, Spinjago, and Sina were. 

“I’m so ready for this,” Rose grinned as she taped her hands up with an eager smile. “Finally we’re kicking some scaly ass and taking names at last!” The darker skinned girl then tied her hair back into a ponytail as she went down her checklist. “Weapons?”

“You know it!” Kasai held up his huge bag stuffed with knives and every other tool they could ever possibly need, though it seems just a little bit overkill. Then again, it wasn’t every day he’d get to utilize his talents. “Come oooon! Let’s go already! Before sensei changes his mind and makes us stay!!” he whined to the others like a child dragging his parents out the door. 

Masuta finally saw them off and the seven headed down the mountain while Garmadon was fiddling around with an old looking piece of parchment that was stuffed in his pocket, a smirk on his pale face. The others quickly noticed this and wondered what was up. 

“Um; what’s with the look? You getting a boner while looking at Mimi’s ass again?” Edna and Kasai started elbowing each other and Garmadon, joking around as they always did. “Huh? Huh ladies man?”

“Boy does that joke never get old guys,” Misako rolled her eyes. “Way to keep things fresh and classy as always.” She chuckled and looked to Garmadon. “Right?”

The shadow ninja’s whole face turned bright red when she said that. “No! I- well; maybe I did look at her butt-” Misako narrowed her eyes when he said that. “But that’s not why I was smiling, I promise!” the twenty-four year old stuttered more. The others raised their eyebrows and he rolled his eyes, “This-!” He quickly showed to change the subject.

“Is chicken scratch,” Rose didn’t look amused by his findings as she cut him off with her sarcastic, mocking tone. “What’s your point G?”

“No! It’s ancient writings my mom used to show me! She taught me how to read it for the most part before she died, but Misako also helped with the stuff I didn’t get to learn,” he coughed, “and it’s teleportation magic; few can learn it and I’ve… well, been doing it behind dad’s back so he might be pissed when he notices I took it from the shelf to use on this mission because I’m lazy and don’t wanna hike for two and half days.”

“Great, we’re on the mission to prove ourselves that we’re competent adults and you steal precious magic scrolls from him. Good job “mature one”,” Namiko sarcastically said while clapping her hands together, “Like we would even trust you to get us all there safely with it!? What if it turns our insides out or we lose our eyeballs!?” 

Tanaka looked panicked too now. “Yes! Nami makes a sound point! Misako and I are in charge so we have veto power!” He looked to Misako who seemed greatly intrigued by the idea of using the scroll. “Of course you’d wanna use the damn scroll.” He sighed, defeated. 

“Question!” Kasai raised his hand, pushing Namiko out of the way. “Does that mean we won’t have to walk aaaaall the way there?”

“Yes Kas; we won’t have to walk far at all,” Garmadon rolled his eyes as he answered the dumb question. 

“I’m in!” 

“Me too!” 

“Oh… I agree to this plan wholeheartedly then!” 

Namiko shook her head as the others went along with his idea. “You’re all insane if you think we won’t potentially die; it is Garmadon we’re talking about here, and I’m just disappointed with you Tanaka! I can’t believe you changed your mind so fast!!”

He looked a bit guilty, but shrugged. “Just because I’m the most rational one here doesn’t mean I’m fully against shortcuts Nami; even you should know that,” the ice ninja held his head high. “I also have weak ankles and this trek will certainly suck the more I think about it.”

“I’m so good at this that I can drop you over the nearest body of water when we travel to Astor you know,” Garmadon threatened the doubting water ninja. “Just watch; we’ll be completely fine on this trip and come back victorious! Our names shall be praised throughout the order of the elementals!”

“Or we can all die tragically in battle and have our names inscribed into the Corridor of Elders as “The Biggest Screw Ups in Ninjago’s History of Elemental Masters”!” Misako jokingly suggested as an alternative. 

While the others started grouping together, Namiko sighed and dragged her feet over to them. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for whatever was supposed to happen.

It was an odd sensation, especially to the others who never even attempted this before; like a kind of tingle in their feet and legs, they felt jelly-like. The next thing they all knew; they were on a patch of grass in the middle of what they assumed was Astor city; Kasai keeling over and actually throwing up as soon as they landed. Namiko sighed and rubbed his back, relieved that’s all that happened. 

“It’ll wear off; let it pass.” Garmadon informed as he sat up, chuckling a bit, shaking his legs off.

“Huh, if this is Astor, I don’t see any Serpentine around here,” Misako frowned, looking up at the cloudy sky. “Maybe it wasn’t over this way-”

“SNAKES!” 

“And there it is,” Rose kicked the butt of her spear and spun it in her taped hands. “Well I’m ready to rock and roll; who’s with me?” She started spouting off ideas. “I’m thinking two teams switching in and out from the flanks; Hypnobrai are shifty with the hypnotizing crap they do, so it’s best to have people who can fight blind with the up close hand to hand stuff to disable the best fights,” the other earth ninja seemed just as eager as the others to get into it as she spouted off her knowledge. 

Tanaka stepped in though. “When in doubt though find the glass bobble from the gold staffs the generals carry for the anti venom straight away. We don’t know if any of the civilians have been influenced already by them. Try not to use lethal force if it comes to that.”

Misako pursed her lips before pulling her scythe out of her back sheath. “Well you can count on an earth ninja for blind fighting,” she offered up first. “Just make sure we’re going to be fighting on solid ground or else I won’t be able to hear them if they fight above ground. Tanaka!” she called the lavender clothed boy over. “You’re in with us on this.”

“Yes ma’am,” he smiled, pulling out his throwing stars from his belt pockets, he was the best at blind fighting during sparring; Kasai constantly accused him of cheating. “Let’s split before they see us then.”

“Lead them down this street in about…” Wdna looked at her watch, “eight minutes,” she whispered, holding up the unarmed bombs she was pulling from her backpack. “We’re going to plant some of my latest creations in the road so they’ll go out with quite a bang!” She giggled more like some kind of mad scientist as she pulled Namiko along to help her.

Garmadon gave his girlfriend one more look and nodded, “I’ll see you in a few minutes I guess,” he slapped hands with her in a quick high-five, holding on for just a moment before releasing the smaller hand. “Love you.”

“Same,” she replied and turned to her cousin and friend to get moving. “Left flank, hold steady…” she readied her weapon. 

Edna started quickly explaining to the others about how her bombs worked as they moved to make shallow holes to plant them in, pressing a button to show they were armed. “So we plant these with these tiny little pins sticking out of the dirt and gravel and when they come around, I light them all up with a small bolt of my electricity!” she showed as she planted another herself. “They’re all electrically censored so lightning masters can easily control the blasts from triggering on their own. These aren’t typical landmines so fire and pressure won’t set them off.”

“Interesting,” Garmadon was baffled at how she could make a bomb that wasn’t pressure sensitive. “Kind of makes me wish I studied lighting like Wu did.”

“I hope this will work Edna, because I think we have our work cut out for us today,” Namiko started scooping more dirt, still not fully understanding what was just explained to her. “Clever idea though to mix your magic with technology though, I’ll give you that.”

She shrugged, “It’s a coexist thing; most masters think that technology is a curse and magic is the only way to do things while normal mortals think magic is crazy and shouldn’t be used; Ed showed me they can work together and he’s not even an elemental,” she explained with a warm smile. 

“Ooh boy; you two are so an item,” Kasai joked around with her. “Just wait, you’ll end up together for real Eddie… I mean, your names even match!” He ruffled her messy locks as he got back to his feet to make sure the rest of the mines where concealed. “Let’s go; I hear the others coming around this way!” He looked up to make sure the coast was still clear.

The four climbed up the walls of a building as fast as they could and waited on the roof to set off Edna’s homemade bombs. From the look of things, Rose, Misako, and Tanaka had wiped out plenty of the snakes and were leading them right down the road, Rose shouting insults at them to keep them coming after them. 

Down another block from this, the other older masters, who sent the call for help, were staring at the younger students as they themselves hid, wondering what they were going to do. All they saw were them planting strange devices in the ground and hide while the others were getting chased down the same road.

“Now,” Namiko urgently said while shaking the other young girl. Edna snapped her fingers and hit the metal needles with small zaps of a well controlled web of lighting and the road went up in a fiery explosion that nearly jolted them off the roof from the vibration. “Omg,” she breathed. Not going to lie, it was kind of gruesome when smoke and fire cleared out so I’ll spare you the details. 

“That was pretty amazing,” Kasai chuckled more, sitting up on his knees and waving to the other three on the ground. “In one fell swoop we knocked out how many dudes?! And your dad said we’re not ready for this crap!” 

“Well, I mean, we did wreck the road in hindsight, it’ll have to be re-cobbled and some of the buildings are severely damaged now from the flames,” Namiko quietly pointed out, but no one paid much attention. “He probably won’t like hearing about that.”

Garmadon was smiling despite that possibility of getting reprimanded, looking at his girlfriend and then to the shocked masters. “So you guys needed help we heard?” he called over loudly, waving his hand as they just stared back in disbelief. 

 

Shortly after climbing back down from their hiding spots; the other four old masters greeted them, still surprised at what they did. “You knocked out over eighty of those things in two small attacks with little effort,” one of them breathed. By the look of their clothing choice and symbol; they were a master of the mind. 

“Yeah; that was amazing,” a girl in light purple; not too much older than Garmadon smiled gratefully. “If only I was fortunate enough to train under Masuta like all of you were!” She extended her hand towards Garmadon. “I’m Raven; I did manage to study under your mother once though. I wish I was in the same bloodline. You come from a crazy bloodline.” 

“You’re a… shadow master then?” Garmadon seemed hesitant to take her hand; she looked a bit devious by the way she was a little too eager to meet him, but nothing happened when they shook thankfully. Raven seemed amused by this.

In every element, there were clans, and from those clans were certain bloodlines, sometimes they would marry from those different clans, and other times they would marry with entirely different elements, or even mortals, though some thought it was best to keep to their own kinds.

“Naturally, of course your mother was a quite famous member of our ranks, and much like her, I have a feeling you will match that fame,” the older woman smirked. She had to be at least thirty if he would have guessed. “Anyways,” she looked to the other masters, “how about we continue this conversation inside? I think we have the time while the remaining Hypnobrai regroup for a final push,” she took a step back and the others followed to their hideout.

 

The master of toxins that was among them was pointing at a map marked with different colored chalk marks. “We have been under siege for two weeks and only now Masuta decided to send his students?!?” she sounded pissed for sure. “How do we know that victory wasn’t some fluke on your part? You seven were ordered to stay at the monastery base because you’re very well known troublemakers to the order!” 

They all looked taken aback by the bold accusations she was slinging their way. She certainly was a feisty one and Kasai was already getting fired up over the remarks.

“Well in all honesty, that’s not quite the full reason as we are still considered students,” Tanaka calmly answered, holding a hand out to stop Kas from speaking. “We are all powerful members of each bloodline so we only have been sent out now because the situation here seemed a bit dire for you all,” the ice ninja coughed; looking sideways at the others. “Though some of us may be wild cards, you should not generalize someone’s skill set on it.”

“Fair enough I suppose,” the other man who was there, a smaller one who looked to be of the wind element nodded. In fact, it appeared that the others had seen him around the monastery often as he was a close friend to Masuta. “Be as it may; we’ll still need the help Venus. You shouldn’t be so harsh on them all because you couldn’t get near a Hypnobrai without be subjected to their powers,” he addressed the green skinned woman with the fangs that had just spoken out.

“Yes, and don’t forget, all toxin masters were the first human mutations of the Serpentine when freakish people decided to mix and mingle with them centuries ago,” her bright green hair flounced. “We can still turn around and help the Serpentine brethren, so watch it with your remarks Soichiro!” 

The man by the named waved his hand, ignoring the threat. “We’re all aware of your heritage Vena, stop making threats and just acknowledge they might know what they’re doing,” he firmly addressed her once more. “Now how about we work on the problem at hand? Hmm?”

“Agreed,” the mind master that was there nodded their head. “There are reports of this sector also riddled with these creatures; think you can make more of those bombs we saw activate before? I myself would love to see how they work up close.”

The team looked to Edna who stood up with pride, it was her moment to shine. “I can make more in a jiffy captain! It’s really simple and I brought spare casings to make more!” She asserted with a nod. 

“I’m a commander…” the white haired master said with a deadpan look. 

“Er- right,” she corrected herself while the others tried not to laugh at her mistake. “Just show me the nearest box of scrap metal and I can get to work blowing those snakes up for you all! Astor will be back in our control in no time flat!!”

 

Crypt of Astor, April 1982

A small blue and white scaled snake ran through the hall of the underground lair of the Serpentine, out of breath as he had lain at the feet of his general, bowing. “General Slitheraa! We’re getting slaughtered out there!” he was terrified. “The warriors in Astor are eradicating us left and right! It was a massacre! They’re fighting back even stronger than before! The city will be theirs again by dusk!” 

The snake general stared down at the minion; not understanding what he had meant as his long tail flicked around in irritation at this panicked messenger. “Scalis, that cannot be,” he tightly smiled. “Our reports say that the masters of the elements have been starting to fall back, abandoning their disgusting city… in Astor no less? Why do you come before me and tell horrendous lies to my face!? We have had nothing but success!”

“It’s no lie Slitheraa!” another snaked vouched for the other. “New masters, looked to be mere children compared to the others, almost wiped out squads upon squads in one fell swoop! They tore our brethren open with machines of metal!” She hissed with more urgency. “They’ve been blowing our men to literal pieces! We must report this to General Arctur-”

“NO!” he slammed his staff into the stone floor which echoed throughout the room. The room fell deadly silent. 

“General?” She whispered.

“Arcturus doesn’t hear about this! Do you understand me!?” Slitheraa’s red eyes shifted between everyone in the hall who stared at him in silence. “He doesn’t need to know yet until this turns critical and we start losing the surrounding river cities. Fortify the takeover in Sina and ensure they don’t try anything funny there next and then start moving into the mountains and Spinjago! They obviously think some stupid strike team can come in and make things easier for those old fools who call themselves masters… he gets lazier and lazier it seems. Some people never change.”


	4. Chapter 3

Jumonokai Village Camp, May 1982

Masuta stood in silence before the other masters that were stationed nearby and able to attend. He let out a tired breath as he heard the sound of his students approaching the makeshift meeting hall of the elementals, taking their seats off to the left. He knew how well they all did the past two weeks when it came to eradicating the Serpentine threat all over, which would raise the next question:

What was he going to do about them now? 

Their unconventional methods lead them to actual progress now and giving them the official rank of master was an idea buzzing around the higher ups more and more with every success, people actually liked them now and there was nothing he could do about it. Masuta personally was hoping they would all make a mess and get some people very angry with them and their methods. He never expected the others would like their destructive, gutsy behavior! 

The worst part to him was that Wu would get all jealous and blame his father for being disliked even more. The idea was actually going to be Wu not associated with a troublemaker team and prove his responsibility on his own and be the one to be accepted as a master first. People doubted him a lot to begin with; now they’ll take Garmadon over Wu any day it seemed. Talk about a backfire on Masuta’s end, right?

“They’re our little heroes of the week I think,” Kasai’s grandmother smiled with pride for once in her life at her stubborn grandson who slouched down in his seat, clearly red in the face. “Heard you kicked some good ol ass out there boy!” she folded her arms, standing up in her seat with a nod of approval. 

The black haired boy blushed even more, “Granny Taika, geez, you’re really embarrassing us right now; I’m not a lil kid anymore!!” Kasai loved his rigid and overbearing grandmother, but she was just too much sometimes, behaving more like a strict mother than a doting grandma, but she was the one who raised him after all. 

“Actually; I’m good; she can praise us more, I have no argument there,” Namiko smiled sassily; enjoying all the attention they were all receiving as she twirled her long hair around her finger. 

Masuta raised a hand, “Okay! Okay; sit down; all of you!” he raised his voice so that the others could hear him better. “Now,” he breathed when the room fell quiet as they all know what was going to be the topic at hand. “I supposed that it is the majority rule that I… allow them to be full-fledged masters; yes?” he wasn’t surprised when he heard clapping. “Yes so; all eight of my-”

“Eight!? It was the seven over there that helped us! Wu didn’t do shit for anyone! He sits around ignoring everyone at base camp! I ask him to fetch me something and he turns away and goes off to do what he wants!” One of the others in the back shouted angrily. “He’s also way too unstable to be let loose on the battlefield yet and we all know it!” 

“One wrong word to him and he might turn on us!” 

“Yeah! Teach him some manners and discipline first and then some of us might see his true potential!”

Garmadon looked across the room to see his younger brother clenching up; eyes glowing a brighter red; this would not turn out well, especially later since he was targeted as the personal punching bag for the blond if he ever had an outburst. 

“Don’t do it,” he mumbled to himself, shaking his head more. When Wu happened to glance his way, he gave the younger a stern look. “Don’t be an idiot Wu and ruin it for yourself now. I know you’re working hard deep down.” It was like the younger could read his thoughts, being he eased up more like he had it under control, sitting back in his seat again, slightly relaxed. His brother looked relieved there would be no scene caused today. 

He didn’t hate his brother by any means, he annoyed the crap out of him and hated he got special treatment by their father, but he didn’t want to see him go ape-shit and lose the little trust people already had in him. He really did believe Wu was better than that. 

The graying master lowered his head before answering the others. “Fine! He will remain under my care as a student then until he proves himself useful enough to all of you; are you satisfied with this?” he asked the group. 

Everyone was in agreement and some nodded along. 

“Now that the other seven will be joining you all out and about; I did have some space for anyone who was willing to train under me; so I would like to welcome the new, potential masters and warriors under my care,” he gestured to a young woman; about a year older than Wu, with long black and green hair. 

“The youngest daughter of my good friend Soichiro, Sayu, and this is Ella, and Anthony. They may be older than the usual age for typical beginner students; but they’re still new to their powers and abilities and it would be beneficial to study under me of course.”

Ella was obviously the youngest; she didn’t even look to be eighteen years old yet. “That’s insane; she’s a kid and is going to be thrown into this fight?” Namiko looked back at the others when seeing the newcomers. “That Sayu girl is at least around our age, and I don’t know about that Anthony guy, but this is messed up if he plans on letting actually minors take part now.”

“Okay; any guesses on the other two’s elements?” Misako whispered, genuinely wondering what they could do. “Sayu is a wind master obviously if she’s Soichiro’s daughter.”

Anthony looked down, folding his hands together, obviously a quiet type like the other two girls. “I’m going to bet shadow or time? I got a hunch,” Rose shrugged her shoulders. “Either way, he doesn’t seem too happy to be one of the chosen ones. I bet he was forced into it and had no real choice,” she chuckled. “Can’t wait to see him be broken in.”

“Okay, money’s on pigtails being a nature elemental,” Kasai kicked back with a confident smile. “She just looks like it, ya know? The nature girls are always a gentler bunch and you can spot them a mile away.”

“We’re going to find out soon enough I’m sure, being we all live at the monastery,” Tanaka closed his gray eyes and faintly smiled. “I just hope they all do a good job giving Masuta hell in our stead when we’re away on missions.” That earned a group chuckle while their master talked on about more plans before closing them out. “Let us go see what they’re like if they’re to be a part of this little group. You know, welcome them into the family.”

Right away though, the girl who was introduced as Sayu walked over to where Wu was sitting across the room. The blond didn’t even smile, but his red gaze shifted up to look at the girl who was trying to make nice with him. Garmadon looked intrigued by this of course and discreetly tried to wander closer to them to maybe hear a bit of what they were saying. No one took any kind of interest in his brother like that.

“A pleasure to meet you, I look forward to training. I’m sure you will be excellent in getting people like me up to speed. I never used my air powers to fight before you see.” She was soft spoken and obviously very polite like her father; truly a child of wind. 

“Ugh,” Misako rolled her eyes, gaining Garmadon’s attention again. No one knew why she said that, but then they noticed who was strutting in with his head held high and all did the same as her. “What the hell do you want Ronin? I didn’t see your name on the army registry you backstabber,” she folded her arms, leaning against a pillar. 

He smirked at the smaller woman. “Oof, harsh words there Misako. No hug for your big brother?” he teased her. “Oh whatever; you know I’m technically an elemental master too dweeb,” he grabbed the top of her head and attempted to push her over, but she kept steady. “I heard that a request was put out for mind masters not in the order? Apparently you need some spies and info traders; I think I’m your guy… for the right price naturally.”

Misako’s mouth dropped when he had the nerve to say something like that. “You would rather the snakes win then!? You’d be out of a home too and made a slave to them if we fail! What makes you so special that you think we’ll pay you to gather info!?”

The older sibling grabbed her face gently while the others watched on. “Because Mimi; no one outside this hall knows I’m an elemental master like you, so no enemy would suspect a mercenary like me; plus I can just steal their memories if they recognize who I am! Name another master that can do the same! Not even that nerdy kid, Neuro, can do that and he’s one of the prodigies I heard!” He pulled his obsidian glaive off his belt to taunt them.

“Ick,” Misako shoved him away forcibly. “You always think you’re better than everyone else, don’t you?”

“You know sis, we could have been a great team if it wasn’t for you wanting to stick around your boyfriend and play ninja with him,” the mercenary sibling taunted her even more, smirking at Garmadon for a moment. “Like old times; I’m the brains and you’re the brawn! We were born a perfect team.”

Rose’s brown eyes darted back and forth as her cousins had their verbal tennis match. Even she was a bit confused on what he was referring to. Though, she was never that close to him; she’d have to ask Misako about it later maybe when they were alone maybe. 

The smaller girl then stood on her toes and smirked back at him. “Ro; I have enough brains and brawn for ten of you alone,” she lowered herself and walked away. 

“Oh-ho! Burned!” Kasai clapped his hands together and walked off after Misako. “Later RORO; you heard the girl!” 

“Don’t you brats call me that!” His nose scrunched up as he got mad. 

“Koko and Roro; it’s cute,” Rose continued to tease, sticking her tongue out; probably not the most mature thing to do, but hey, they saved three cities from total invasion in the matter of a week, it was okay to be just a little cocky for now.

“You’ll need me one day you jerks! You know that?!” Ronin snapped off. “And then my price will be doubled when you do!” He trailed off when he turned to see Masuta standing next to him. “Sir!” he gaped, standing at attention. “I- uh-”

The graying blonde held his hand up, “Don’t say another word; I’m certain you can see what I am thinking of doing to you in my head right now if you don’t move along?” He quietly asked. Ronin shut his mouth right away and bowed. “Good,” Masuta smiled. “So here’s the deal Ronin, you will make it your business to spread around false information about us for the time being until your pay is up. Two months.”

The young man took three solid gold coins from the old master, it doesn’t sound like a lot, but in their currency, it was a decent sum for his work. “I-I- Yes sir; I understand,” he nodded; fixing his woven hat on his head and walked out without another word; looking over his shoulder to see his younger sister and her boyfriend tightly holding hands as they were talking to one of the newer girls, Ella. 

“Damn punk bastard… I’m not going to the wedding if they manage to live long enough to have one,” he mumbled with just little bit of resentment and left in a huff. “If that idiot allows her to get hurt in anyway, I’ll do far worse to him.”

 

The Mountain of Impossible Heights, Hikari Village, May 1982

Garmadon flinched, spinning around, hands up in a blocking position when there was a hard tug on the back of his tunic. He held the position when he saw it was Wu who did this. “Listen, I know you got pissed at the other masters and the fact I agreed with them about holding you back from master rank, but I’m so not letting you punch me this time for it.” He sternly said.

“I’m not here to punch you.” Wu dropped his arms to the sides. “How do I get people to trust, or, uh, like me, I guess?”

“What?” The older sibling blinked at the odd, out of character question, wondering if a roundhouse kick was still coming his way. “What do you mean by that?” He still held a defensive position.

Wu looked annoyed that he still wasn’t understanding the question. “I mean, how do people still like you after you blow their towns up? If I did that, they’d call me a monster, not a hero; even if it was to take out the snakes!” His face was neutral again. 

The brunette lowered his guard more now and eased up. “I don’t know; I didn’t expect people to like it when we blow their shit up. Why do you even care? You don’t like to work as a team and would rather hang around here. At least, dad says so.”

“Pfft,” Wu looked away, glancing to see if their father was around before continuing. “That can’t be farther from the truth brother.” He admitted. “Dad wanted you guys to be disliked, that’s why he kept me away from you when he sent you guys out.”

“What!?” He looked surprised, but it quickly disappeared. “Wait! That actually kind of makes sense now that you say it out loud.” 

Wu shrugged. “Yea, but now look who’s the hated one… I know deep down even dad hates me.”

Garmadon sighed, taking pity. “No one hates you Wu-”

“Misako does.” Wu’s eyes looked like they were getting watery, but with a few blinks it disappeared and his face hardened. “Namiko, Tanaka, Rosie, Edna… Kasai, my only friend left even hates me. You can see it when they look at me. You don’t even like me.”

“I just hate it when you take your problems out on me dumbass. I don’t hate you!” Garmadon lightly hit the side of Wu’s head. “This is the first time I’m hearing that it even remotely bothers you,” Garmadon folded his arms. “Did something else happen today I didn’t know about… or?” He had no idea where any of this conversation was going.

“I think I like Sayu.” Wu finally said. “Like how I like Misako.” He looked embarrassed. “But I’m not sure!” He quickly added. 

As the elder’s eyes widened, the younger slouched down, cheeks blushing. “Oh my gosh.” Garmadon held his hand over his mouth as he drew out the last word, shocked. “You said you’d never get over Koko!!” 

“Shut up!” Wu looked back; still relieved to see everyone was outside. “You cannot tell anyone I told you this!” He ordered, jabbing a finger in his brother’s chest. “Not unless you want to be thrown off the roof, over the side of the mountain of course!”

“Chill,” Garmadon rolled his eyes, shoving the jabbing finger away from him. “Why are you even telling me this? You want dating advice or something?” Wu kept his mouth shut. “By the gods… you do want my advice!” 

Wu’s face turned redder. “So what if I do!? Stop turning this into some kind of bonding, brotherly experience. I just wanna know how you can do dumb shit and get praise for it!! I’m strictly hear to leech off methods!” 

Garmadon continued to ignore his brother. “But, like- this is huge, that means Misako and I can date in peace,” it looked like he won the lottery, the brunette looked so ecstatic by the thought. 

“All I said was I THINK I liked her like that!” Wu sighed, seeming to regret telling his brother thi. “Oh forget it, you’re not gonna listen to anything else now.”

Garmadon grabbed Wu by the shoulders, “Wu, this is huge,” he started before actually hugging him. “I knew you didn’t hate me deep down. I can finally be you big brother again.” He wasn’t even being sarcastic about it. Not even a year after the snake bite Wu had made his brother his adversary; they hadn’t had a proper relationship in years, was that finally changing?

He was pushed away again though. “Listen, all I wanna know is how you hooked up with Misako and all that romantic crap. If I end up not liking Sayu, I’m back to winning your girlfriend over. We are not allies yet here.”

“Well, I mean, Sayu already seems to like you so, I don’t know, talk to her like a normal person and if she wants to bang, make sure I don’t have to hear it.” Garmadon shrugged. “That’s what happened to me and Koko, granted we grew up together, so slightly different situation. It’s harder the older you get.”

“Wait, what do you mean talk to her? How do I do that!?” Wu blinked as the elder walked past him to return to what he was doing. “I don’t know anything about her!” 

“Talking? It’s when you open your mouth and words come out. Kind of like what we’re doing right now,” Garmadon pointed at him. “But, seriously, just tell her you like her and go from there. Just don’t be a dick to her; she has two older sisters that will most likely murder your ass.” He smiled. “Hey, that’s something you have in common! You’re the little siblings!” 

Wu was left alone to his thoughts now. He didn’t know how to feel about anything, sure he might have liked Sayu, but what he really wanted, was Misako, or better yet, it’s what he thought he wanted. They might have been kind of similar in a few ways from what he already knew about the young wind master, but she was so quiet and soft, Misako was fiery and passionate and strong.

He just locked himself in his room, flopping on the bed and burying his face in his pillow, further confused and frustrated by his brother’s blunt, yet genuinely honest advice that further confused his feelings.


	5. Chapter 4

The war effort was give and take. Masters would win some, the Serpentine would cover more ground and surprise them. Most of the smaller villages and towns were quickly overthrown and taken back by the humans while bigger cities put up more of a fight. It seemed that they were still in an odd balance of wins and losses. Plenty of lives on both sides were lost during the battles, but most of the time, the two sides tried to stick to using spies which was a hit or miss tactic. 

Needless to say, the humans were getting quite tired as the exhausted their magical abilities faster and faster in fights and eventually enlisted the help of regular mortals half a year into the fight.

Sadly that this war didn’t seem like it had an end in close sights even with the extra hands. 

 

The Mountain of Impossible Heights, Hikari Village, February 1983

“Sayu’s definitely dedicated; look at her,” Tanaka was watching the student of air go through her normal exercises without shaking or locking up. She was even barefoot on a cold and most likely slippery rock. “It looks like she’s not even trying, I greatly envy her. Wouldn’t catch me barefoot and here I am as an ice master!” 

“Well, she claimed she wanted to surpass her own father in strength so of course she’s going to train as hard as she possibly can,” Namiko commented. “Her older sisters are also pretty powerful too from my understanding!” 

She had the best work ethic compared to the others she was trained with. Wu had tried following his brother’s advice and talked with her, but he started to feel weird when she acted so patient and listened to him. It was a bit awkward when he caught himself rambling on to her and would get flustered and just leave during a conversation, but the others started noticing this eventually.

“I personally think we were just handed a girlfriend for Wu on a silver platter guys,” Kasai looked away, thinking more on how it would work out. “Come on, think about it! It’s been almost a year and they spend an awful lot of time together already. I think we have finally made progress with him!”

“I don’t know what you’re even talking about,” Garmadon glanced up from his book, lying. He did promise Wu he wouldn’t tell the others after all. On the inside though, he was happy to see the two got along, but it didn’t seem to be going anywhere unfortunately. It was probably because Wu was hanging onto the past and how infatuated he had been with Misako.

“Pfft,” Kasai folded his arms, “I think Namiko would agree with me.”

Tanaka stood up, gesturing to the other two. “Speaking of which, you know we have to leave for Sina in a few hours, I recommend we move it and mentally prepare ourselves. I heard it’s gotten even worse since the last time we were there, Consctricti have really destroyed the place this time,” he folded his hands together. “It’s so hard to hold the more northern places.”

The other two young men looked at one another and chuckled, seeming to ignore what he was saying. “What? Are you two listening at all? This is quite serious!!” He looked at them both, but noticed they were looking behind him.

“Tana; I think you have an admirer,” Garmadon pointed out that one of the newer students, Ella, was peeking out from the hall doorway, intently looking at the ice ninja with wide eyes. Though as soon as he took notice of her, she slipped back inside her room, feeling embarrassed now probably, being her face turned very red very fast. “How cute!”

“Please,” the third boy looked away, blushing a bit now too. “I think you’re just making things up now. She’s young and probably looks at all of us as if we’re some kind of group of untouchables. It’s not the first time it’s happened.”

“Eh, whatever helps you sleep better at night man, but you’re blushing too since we brought it up,” Kasai shrugged and walked on by, going to pack his bag and get his cold gear. “Just saying, I think it’d be nice to have someone to come home to after fighting on the front. You see, Garm and I have our ladies fighting with us so it’s not really as romantic.”

“Speak for yourself dude, Misako looks hot in battle armor,” Garmadon laughed. “Besides, it’s not even like you and Nami hit third base yet.”

“Shut up! We’re taking it slow!” Kasai shouted. “I… also don’t even know what third base is!” He admitted sadly.

Tanaka rolled his eyes as chose to not engage anymore. Maybe the girls would be having a much more civilized conversation.

 

Sina City, February 1983

Sina was basically burned to the ground and full of craters dug out by the black and orange snakes that had been inhabiting the place for several months now. The others couldn’t believe it when they came to the demolished city gates. Homes and buildings of all sorts were in shambles, piles of splinters even. It was quite confusing since Masuta said only recently they had requested aid when the first stronghold fell. 

“What the hell-? No way have those snakes been here for a few weeks? It’s almost like nothing was ever here to begin with,” Rose looked around. “Do you guys see anyone around? I thought there were ten masters stationed here after they cleared the Crypt of Astor.” She swallowed; one of these included her father, so she was pretty worried to say the least. 

“The remaining masters are probably hiding right now from everything, waiting for help,” Edna started off. “We better start looking for them right away! Maybe if we can group up and track down where the snakes are going next, we can stop them in time!” 

“Slow down guys!” Misako shouted after the others as they all took off through the ruined city without her. “Just be careful of any traps, okay!?” Rose seemed in too much of a hurry though, which made her younger cousin more paranoid they would get ambushed. 

“Rosie, she’s right, slow down, I know your dad was here, but come on!” Kasai looked around at the tall piles of splintered wood and crumbled masonry. It was a chilling sight for sure and having Rose shout for her missing father just added to it. 

“Dad?” She tried not to shout too loudly, but she couldn’t help it, it had been forever since she saw him and the state of the city wasn’t exactly helping her mental state. She shivered a bit in the cold, brown eyes darting around for any sign of the other humans she knew were still left there. 

“Constricti!” Tanaka snapped at attention and threw Rose down to the ground in a pile of snow. The others behind crouched down as well, staring at the marching line of snakes that were doing patrols. “We need to be more careful, the deeper in we go, the more of them we will surely come across.”

Garmadon nodded, “Remember guys, as much as I hate it, this is strictly a rescue and surveillance mission now. We can’t afford to get caught making stuff explode. Master Taika just wants the masters home safe. We can afford to let Sina slide through our fingers for now.”

Namiko looked back out and noticed some trench like formations dug out into the road. “Hey, that looks like an earth master fought there recently since snow isn’t totally covering it yet. Maybe they’re nearby!” She seemed hopeful for her friend. “Let’s go quickly!” 

They broke off into two groups that went through the wreckage on both sides of the street, keeping an eye out for the mysteriously disappearing allies. As they silently crept along, a rock was thrown from over a pile of broken stone structures which caught their attention right away. 

“I think it’s our guys!” Edna took point and poked over into the small survivor camp surrounded by rubble. “Hey!” she loudly whispered. “You guys the only ones left?” She counted six, pulling her mask down from over her mouth. 

“Oh thank the gods; it’s help! I thought I heard human voices!” One looked relieved as the other six ninja popped over the side. “Maybe we’ll have enough now to finally push back and get out of here. Those are Masuta’s special little team after all.” They all greeted the young adults as they made their way down. 

During the greetings and explanation of what happened to them, Rose looked around, noticing she did not recognize the six that were there. “Cole,” she swallowed. “Cole Green the master of earth, where is he?” The question made them all go silent. “I-I’m his daughter, Rose.” She pressed her lips together, lowering her head. 

One of the older women from the smoke clan placed her hands on Rose’s shoulders. “He has only recently passed, I’m so sorry. His injures could not be treated in these conditions so he made a final attempt to take as many of those wretched snakes as he could with him. He did well to throw them off on our little camp here, so we owe him much to our safety.”

Rose let out an odd, whimper-like noise as her eyes let some tears loose. She turned away from the woman and stood there, kind of numb as she stared at the ground. Misako never saw her cousin cry. No one ever did. It was shock to see her look so sad and vulnerable. Rose managed to swallow hard before speaking again, “Did… you recover a body so I can at least take him back home?” she shakily asked. 

Another master pointed up more. “He’s somewhere across the road, buried under the snow now I’m sure. It was only this morning it happened.” The man sighed and there was a moment of silence. “He talked about you all the time. He was proud of everything you are.”

She didn’t respond.

“Rose?” Namiko asked. “Rose, I know how you feel. My father was killed by Serpentine when I was seventeen, in Ninjago City,” she reached for her hand. “I know how much it hurts.” She held the other’s gloved hands.

Still no one said a word. It was haunting; the reality of war and death was finally hitting her. The excitement and rush of battle seemed to have been drained as she realized just how mortal they all still were, despite their great power. She finally crouched down, huddling in a ball, unable to do anything for now. 

“I-I need a minute,” she whimpered.

“We need to get moving if we want a chance of getting out. We’re going to have to fight our way through being we’re surrounded.” Misako sighed. “It’s best if we leave her here to mourn for the time being. She won’t be able to think straight now.” She told the others. “We saw some patrols of the snakes west of here. I think it’s time to take revenge for the four fallen masters.”

One man with his arm in a makeshift sling, a presumed master of nature, raised his good hand. “I’ll stay behind with her. I’m not much use right now myself.” He offered. 

“Thank you,” Garmadon bowed his head. “Come on, we gotta get going.” He started climbing out. “Hey you scaley bastards! You mess with one of us; you mess with the whole crew!” He shouted, grabbing his katana and igniting it with flames and Kasai followed suit, directly engaging with their weapons. 

Edna whipped out more of her favorite little bombs and smirked as she slung them in various places on the ground. “Damn straight!” She sent a wave of electricity through the air and blew up the road even more. “Take that scum! You made Rosie cry so I’ll blow your brains out!” 

Namiko sent a wave of water down her section, sweeping a group of Consctricti up in it. “Tana!” she shouted and the ice ninja froze the water, with the snakes still in it. “Thanks!” She gave two thumbs up, admiring the pillar of ice. “Misako, give them a good shake for me!” 

The green eyed ninja of earth jumped high off a rubble pile, slamming her scythe into the ground so hard, it made the whole place rumble and shake, which in turn lured out even more of the snakes that were waiting to ambush them.

“Excellent work!” Another water master praised them. “I fully understand why you kids are so loved.” She chuckled. 

Rose was just sat as she heard the explosive battle her friends and the other masters started. “I should be out there avenging you. Not have my friends do it for me.” She thought to herself, finally getting to her feet and picking her spear up again. She walked past the injured nature master that was seated by the fire. “Stay here,” she told him. 

“Hmm?” He glanced up as she went by, concerned.

“No one touches my family and gets away with it you bastards.” She charged up the hill of wood debris that served as their cover shelter, jumping high into the air and let out a battle cry. 

 

Crypt of Ancients, The West Mountains, February, 1983

All four of the main tribe generals had been gathered altogether in celebration of the destruction of the nearby city of Sina. They sat and laughed as they recalled the demise of so many people that had lived there as if it was something to be proud of. 

“The foolish land dwellers are losing hope for sure now!” Acidious, leader of the Venomari chuckled with delight as they swapped stories of their recent battles. 

“I told those oafs, Arcturus didn’t need to be brought in for these stupid squabbles. Even if we were chased out of Astor’s underground, we’ll have it back in no time,” Slitheraa drank from his goblet. “He has much bigger and better plans going on you know; he’s almost done preparing for it actually,” he explained. “He personally told me himself and I’m sure you’ll all find it so delightful.”

Fangtom hissed, both heads rolling their sets of eyes. “Please Slithraa, don’t bother boasting about what besties you and the head general are! We get it.” He turned away. “Besides, we know that he’s putting his son in charge of the legion’s covert mission; you’re not the only one with inside information.”

Saklidor raised a scaley eyebrow. “What is this supposed plan anyways? Hypnobrai are taking the mountains, Venomari, the swamps, Fangpyre are handling the eastern provinces and the mountains along the coast, and my men have the west belt and the deserts as we speak, where else is there left? We’ll be closing in on their central hub soon and then the outlying islands and states will be no trouble!”

“Rumor is that Arcturus and his son are heading right for the dead center of Ninjago City for the assumed final attack that will make them all surrender indefinitely!” Acidious hissed with glee. “I like the sound of that gutsy move! I hope it’s true.” 

Slitheraa laughed too. “I know; the strike is being planned and is set to happen after we secure the borders more. If the battle still rages on, the orders are to go ahead sometime in summer regardless of our statuses out here. We don’t want this prolonged anymore than it has to be.”

“Right now Acrturus’ son is meeting with a special agent for some… third party help to say the least.” Acidious teased the information he knew of. “In fact I had some of my own men as his personal escort at his request.”

The generals continued to hiss with laughter until the shaking started. “Earth masters are here in the west belt again?” One looked up with concern. “I thought Sina was vanquished and the remaining masters were being hunted down!”

Skalidor backed out of the circle. “I must return to my troops I placed there. We can’t have setbacks now!” He hurried out of the crypt. “I can’t lose anymore men!”

 

Jumonokai Village Camp, February 1983

The seven were surrounded by the other masters that had remained stationed in the area or had just returned from their own quests to take back towns in the mountains. They were all in the tavern though, celebrating their new saviors of the war. 

Rose was sitting more off on her own though, wanting to keep to herself. She was already on her fourth drink and looking a bit washed up. The poor thing was still grieving over her father’s death. The last time she saw him was two months ago when he was leaving to be stationed in Sina. Rose would surely get over it in time for their next mission she would be put on, but right now, she just needed her space. 

Ella shuffled up to Tanaka and lowered her head. She was so much shorter compared to him so it made her look even younger. “I think you’re really amazing,” she finally spoke up to him. “I might be from Sakura, but I lived in Sina for a while with nature relatives, so thank you for avenging my family and the people who died while there,” she stood back up straight with tears in her peridot eyes. “Even if I’m the only surviving member of my family,” she started shaking more, covering her face with her hands.

The ice ninja smiled sadly and pulled her in for a hug. “I really wish there was more we could have done for them.” He quietly said. “I am sorry you too have lost family there Ella. I promise we can end this war soon.” 

“I hope you’re right.”

“Heey, Ellie got the guts to finally talk to him, how cute. Still, I hope she’ll be okay after that,” Namiko’s smile faded, but their attention was brought back to someone who stood on their seat to make a toast.

“May the great warriors of Ninjago continue their quest for victory!” One shouted. “May you slay every last one of those bloody snakes!” 

Wu rolled his eyes as he saw the others relishing in the well earned glory. Sina was currently a bloodbath of snake corpses strewn about as revenge for the city’s horrible destruction and as a message to the generals of the army. He only wished he could have been there, also wishing they would be praising his name as well.

His thoughts were interrupted by Sayu who sat next to him, giving him a hot drink. “Here,” she smiled, looking back. “I’m rather envious of them as well.” She laughed, noticing his sour face. “They’re so lucky to be so strong; I hope that I can be a part of their team when my training is all done. I would love to go on glorious adventures and slay those horrible monsters… together of course.”

He side glanced her, raising an eyebrow and scoffed. She chuckled in response, “You know, do some good? Surely you must admire your brother. I hear he slew a hundred all on his own.”

“Pfft,” Wu snorted. “They’re overrated. Bunch of chuckle heads if you ask me,” he yawned. “Screw em.”

The air ninja laughed more. “You have such an odd way of looking at things Wu. I know you wish you could be on the team as well. I can see it how you look at them all. You’re envious like me,” she sipped her drink. “Let’s work hard and become true masters, okay?”

Wu glanced back over to her. She was an intriguing one for sure, though he still looked at Misako when she wasn’t paying attention to him. Sayu was so kind though; she never shouted at Wu when frustrated and always went out of her way to be around him and do little, nice things for him. Why was he throwing this amazing opportunity away? 

“What’s wrong with me? Here I have a chance to be loved by someone and yet I can’t let go…” Wu tensed up, clenching his hand around the mug Sayu had given him as he thought more and more about it. He looked back over when a half-drunken Garmadon was on the table, making out with Misako while all the others were laughing. 

The blond clenched up more when he saw the sight, hand squeezing the mug so hard it shattered in his hands, startling the air ninja beside him as the hot liquid spilled over their laps and the bench. No one else seemed to notice though. 

“Wu, oh my- let me grab a rag before it soaks in and burns your skin!” She went to stand up when he was the one who got up and walked away. “Wu?” she blinked, almost afraid to go after him when she saw how pissed off he seemed to look. “D-did I do something wrong?” She looked to the shattered ceramic and knelt down to pick the pieces up. 

“Why do I bother? Why do I care?!” Wu covered his face as he went outside, not even putting his jacket on. “Why does it still bother me so. Damn. MUCH?!” He asked in his head over and over again. 

 

Misako almost stumbled and tripped into her tent, but caught herself, trying to clear her head. “Last time I do shots, I swear,” she blinked a few times before noticing that someone was already lying down in there. “Oh wait, is this the right tent-”

“Oh my gosh, I’ve been waiting for almost an hour…” she recognized that half drunk voice whining at her. 

“Dear gods you’re naked,” she noticed the pile of clothes off to the side as he was half under the blankets in there. “Aren’t you cold like that!?” She asked, still able to have a coherent thought. 

Garmadon shrugged. “Meh,” he looked at her expectantly. “Why you so freaked out about it? Not the first time you’ve seen me without clothes,” he smirked deviously at her. 

“Oh no no no,” she shook her head, “We’re not having sex tonight.” 

“Come on,” he sat up more, looking more like a pouty toddler than a twenty-four year old man, “we just slaughtered a city full of snakes, we drank until we threw up- twice in my case, and the only thing left to finish the night is to finish you.”

She sighed, “Wow, first off, that’s your cheesiest one yet.” She nodded, as if she was questioning her life decisions up until now. “We’re in the middle of a war camp and are going to get new orders of where to go in the morning; we don’t have time for this. This isn’t some normal date, and someone will certainly hear us.”

“That’s what makes it even more exciting,” his eyes lit up, partially from arousal and the sheer excitement of trying to not be caught… and maybe way too many drinks. “Besides, it’s been soooo loooooong Kokooooo,” he flopped back, moaning. 

“Shut up,” she looked back, throwing the tent flap down, securing it before someone could come by and notice. “I have a headache from those nasty poppers Edna made.” Misako held a hand to her head. 

Garmadon seized the chance and took her off guard, pulling her down to the ground, arms around her waist. “I can make you forget all about that headache Koko,” he buried his face in her neck, reaching a hand down to caress her inner thigh.

She tensed up when he did that, “Oh geez,” she sighed, feeling her face start to heat up. 

“Just know that no matter tempted I am to rip you out of your clothes right now, I won’t,” he whispered. “If you’re wet enough, you’ll do it yourself.” He teased more. 

“You are REALLY drunk, aren’t you?” Misako tried to compose herself, but the alcohol was very much taking over her again as he ran his hand over her crotch. “Mmmm,” she leaned back against him. 

“Just once, I won’t ask you again until this war is done,” he seemed to promise. 

“Just once is all it takes,” her voice trembled a bit from him. “You know what could happen Garm.” She looked back at him. 

He kissed up her neck to her cheek, nibbling on her ear. “It wouldn’t be the first time we did it freely you know.” Garmadon’s other hand snaked up to grab at her chest. “Besides, I thought you wanted to have my baby, why would you care if I knocked you up?”

“A bit of a dramatization of what I actually said, but I wouldn’t want to in the middle of a war,” Misako had to remind him. It was a miracle she could hold a conversation from how much he was touching her, but from tequila to whisky and everything else on the shelves in the bar, the drinks were finally settling in on her enough to let her make impulsive decisions.

She lifted a hand to undo the top catch on her robes, taking her glasses off and setting them aside. “You know what?” she asked out loud. “Screw it.” She turned around on his lap, pushing him to the ground, making out with him. “You wanted to bang? I’ll make sure you never forget this night.”

 

Misako was the first to wake, grabbing her clothes and hurrying to put them on since it was so cold out and the tents barely had resistance to it. There was no need to rush though; she was always early to wake up and meet up with the others. “Hey,” she shook Garmadon’s shoulder. “Get your pants back on, I don’t want people to see you leaving the same tent as me,” she chuckled, starting to pull the blankets from his body when he wouldn’t respond. 

“It’s cold!” he grumbled, pulling them back on and curling up. 

“Baby,” she rolled her eyes, smiling more. She leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Last night was heavenly by the way,” she whispered, leaving more kisses on his face. Her head still kind of hurt though from drinking with the others, but she handled her hangovers better than most. 

Without warning, Garmadon wrapped his arms around her and snuggled closer, pulling the blanket back on again. “I don’t wanna go back, I wanna stay here with you forever Koko. Let’s runaway,” he smirked when suggesting the idea. “Let’s runaway and never ever come back, we can get married finally, have all the kids you want,” Garmadon ran a hand through her soft, messy hair as she wished they could do that. 

“You know I can’t… I owe it to my people to stay and fight, especially Rose.” She started working her way out of his arms. “I love you, I love you with all my heart Garmadon, but I can’t do that now. How about we focus on ending this faster instead,” she suggested, throwing his pants and robes at him. “Then we can do this all you want for the rest of our lives.” She playfully whispered to him. 

 

Wu had never went to bed, sitting on a bench outside the tavern. He noticed his brother leave his tent with Misako close behind and he knew what happened. He lowered his head, feeling almost ashamed of himself. “She’ll never love me, will she?”

“Morning Wuuu!” He perked up when hearing Sayu call his name, the same bright smile on her face. “I’m so glad to see you’re alright after last night. I was really worried about you,” she had a blanket with her and draped it around him. “The others are at the bonfire cooking up some rice and oats for breakfast if you want to join us.”

He stared at her for a moment, “Sure,” he looked down, accepting her hand and got up together. “I uh, would like to.”


	6. Chapter 5

The Mountain of Impossible Heights, Hikari Village, April 1983

“Go time everyone, wakey wakey eggs and bakey,” Kasai shouted loudly as he stomped through the monastery, making as much noise as possible, even banging two pots together. “New day, new fight, we’re getting our orders at twelve-hundred hours!” He continued to announce like he was in charge or something. 

“Who said bacon?” Edna poked her head out, sniffing the air. “Are we actually getting a hot breakfast today? Did Tanaka or Sayu cook?!” Her stomach growled just thinking about it, everyone loved it when either ninja had breakfast duty. Namiko followed her to go find something to eat while they still had time. 

Tanaka was already up and had made them all some hot tea while Sayu was finishing rest of the cooking for him. “Morning everyone!” The two greeted them as they came out and took a seat around the dining area. “Sorry to say I didn’t have time to start on something like pancakes, but we made a vat of scrambled eggs.”

“I’ll take it,” Rose took a seat on a barstool, grabbing a plate from the stack. “Hey, where’s our warrior lovers? I haven’t seen either of them all morning.”

“One’s in the bathroom I think,” Namiko wiped her eyes. “I don’t know, don’t worry about them; it’s their fault if they miss breakfast,” she yawned. “Besides, more for us.”

 

Misako was slumped against the wall, a bit on the pale side and feeling awfully weak. She swallowed hard before giving in and throwing up a second time in the toilet, eventually finding the strength to flush it and wipe her mouth off. “Ugh,” she heavily breathed, getting to her feet, hands supporting her on the lid of the white toilet seat. 

Garmadon quickly slid the door open and closed it again as he entered. “Hey, you look awful,” he looked her over. She didn’t like hearing that as her nose scrunched up in response to his comment. “You should go back to bed. You have time.” He fixed her hair’s part, tucking some light brown hair behind her ear. 

His girlfriend shook her head. “I’m not going with you guys. I can’t do it anymore, this is getting to be too much for me to handle,” she admitted, leaning against the porcelain sink counter now. “I just need to tell them Garm, it’s not like it’ll stay a secret much longer when the armor will stop fitting. Besides, I can’t afford to get hurt, you of all people should agree with me on that.”

He looked down at her tired face and held her shoulders. “You don’t have to do this now Koko. We can still keep quiet for another few months.”

“I can’t keep blaming it on a hangover; I haven’t drunk anything in weeks and the others can vouch for it,” she fell forward into his embrace. “I warned you this would happen, I should have just stopped myself, but I didn’t,” she shook her head. “I’m a horrible leader; I can’t even control sexual desires if you get two shots in me.”

“Well, that was arguably the hottest sex I ever had with you, so I think it was a good night.” He smiled, but she raised an eyebrow and he sighed. “Ugh, I know, I know. Seriously, blame me, I had at least nine drinks that night, I was the irresponsible one here. I wish I just crashed in the bar under a table, but I went after you instead.”

“We both were drunk though.” she added, holding a hand over her stomach. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared. I’ve faced armies of snakes and skeletons and I’m scared to tell the others that we’re having a baby. Funny how these things work.”

Garmadon opened the door, pulling her along. “Come on,” he sighed. “You need a valid excuse to stay home other than you’re a bit ill. You can’t possibly leave with us today, you’re right, what if you got hurt?”

“There they are!” The others were waiting for them, pulling the couple out of the conversation they were having. “Geez Mimi, you look awful; you okay?” Edna looked concerned. 

Misako saw Wu and Masuta on the other side of the kitchen, looking at her for an answer as well. She discreetly held Garmadon’s hand behind her. “I can’t go with you guys today… or on any kind of mission anytime soon.” She tried to keep her voice steady, but she was most concerned on how Wu would react. It felt like a longer pause than what it was, so she continued, “I’m pregnant.” Her legs felt like jelly as soon as she let the words out, it was weird to admit it to everyone else.

For some reason, Rose, Namiko, and Tanaka weren’t shocked at all, which led to the reason why. “Dude, everyone heard you two were banging pretty hard when we all got wasted at the bar after returning from Sina.” Kasai had to awkwardly state. “I mean, you tried to be quiet, but my gosh, you really wanted to be screwed, Misako.”

“Yes, you made it very clear many times,” Tanaka sipped his tea. “You kiss your mother with that vulgar mouth?”

“And you think I’m the loud one,” Garmadon started chuckling. “She was so drunk guys.”

Masuta was definitely unaware of this though and stood up. “I see.” He looked behind her to his now guilty looking son. “I don’t have to even bother asking who the father is then.” He nodded. “You will be excused until the child is born and you recover. For now, you may stay in the surrounding areas on watch duty and helping to train the other students. Your mind will be put to fine use in strategy if your strength cannot be utilized. It would be a shame if something happened.” 

“Thank you sir,” Misako bowed, starting to feel ashamed. It sounded almost like he was giving her punishment, not just excusing her from battle, from the condescending tone he had given. She wasn’t going to apologize though for it; she was dead set on marrying his oldest son whether he liked it or not, it would have happened eventually anyway that they would have kids. Plus, maybe part of her was a bit excited to have a baby.

Wu didn’t say anything, leaving while the others were talking. Sayu looked up when he did slipped out and excused herself to follow. “Wu?” She called after him. “Wu,” she sighed when she saw he was under the deck. “Listen, I know, you love her,” she sighed. “You love her, but it is unrequited. I’m sorry you feel such pain.” She held his hands. “I know I’m not helping you any by confusing your feelings.”

“Why are you here may I ask?” He snapped at her, flicking her hands away. “You follow me around, always trying to be nice; why?” He demanded to know, eyes glowing brighter. “None of the others do that and I wanna know why!” He grabbed her shoulders, tightly.

Her gray eyes softened as she smiled. “Because I care about you Wu, and I would dare say I might even be able to love you as well one day, because underneath all of this, I know there’s something good that was left untouched,” she admitted. “But I think I’ll be fine if you don’t like me back.” She still held her smile even though it was a pretty sad thing to say. “All I want is to help you.”

The blonde glanced back at her, almost seeming to consider it once more. She was no Misako. Sure she controlled great power, but she had no commanding voice or was strong in a crowd of people. Sayu was submissive, kind, and obedient all to a fault.

She tilted her head, reaching a hand to touch his cheek. “If you want me gone you can just say so and I will. I’m sorry I’m confusing you so much,” she retracted her hand went to leave when Wu grabbed her wrist, gripping it tightly. 

“Who broke your heart?” 

Sayu blinked in response to the question. She looked away quickly though. “It’s not important. It was almost eight years ago. I was, well, a different person. I got into so many fights… and won,” her green bangs draped over her eyes, masking her expression more. She then decided to continue, “I just scared him off I think, like I did with a lot of people in my village. So I just, well, kept to myself; I stopped picking fights, learned some control over my powers and anger, and now I’m just plain and boring I guess.”

Wu let go of her arm again. “Well that’s a stupid reason to leave you; because you were strong? I at least have good reasons people avoid me,” he looked at his hand. “I’m cursed.”

“Oh please do not say that-”

“But it’s the truth.” Wu cut her off. “Even my father knows it. One day I’ll become a fully wretched monster that will have to be put down by my brother. I’m just a dead man walking at this point. No one should give me a chance.” He clenched his hand into a fist. “It’s best you find someone else to like.”

Sayu threw herself on him in a hug. “Please, you’re no monster.” She pulled away to look him in the eyes. “You can fight it; I know you have the will to be good, right?”

“That’s the thing Yu, I don’t really think I do.” Wu admitted. “That’s what scared people off the most.”

 

Garmadon looked back at Misako while they were all leaving the monastery. If he had asked to stay with her, he would never hear the end of it from his father about being irresponsible or breaking a commitment or something along those lines. Sure it was a bit selfish to let that fuel his judgment to leave his girlfriend behind, but the responsible thing was to go on. He just hated the idea of Misako dealing with this all on her own for who knows how long. 

 

*****

 

“I won’t be there to watch your back, so, just come back in one piece,” she quietly told him as he held her. “If you come back with any broken bones, I’ll break another for you.”

Her boyfriend smiled, kissing her cheek and squeezed her more. “I won’t be gone that long, a week at the most if reinforcements come to challenge us. Breaking a bone would be good because that means I’ll have to stay home with you,” he joked.

“Well I could do it right here and now for you,” she offered. “Avoid the whole trouble of leaving and coming back.”

Rose walked by them and laughed. “Don’t worry Mimi; we’ll all watch him to make sure he won’t do anything stupid! Gods know he’ll charge right in there like a madman.”

Garmadon just rolled his eyes and looked back to Misako. “I really wish you were coming, but I get it,” he sighed. She nodded in agreement. “Okay,” he looked back at the others who were opening the gates. 

“I love you,” she hugged him again. 

 

*****

 

“Man, I feel bad for you dude,” Kasai yawned, readjusting the strap on his backpack. “Your dad is always breathing down your neck with something as small as how you sheath your sword, and now you up and got Misako knocked up; how did you think he would react? Oh gosh, are her parents still even around? Are they gonna find out!? What about her brother? You know he’s not fond of you either.”

“I know, I get it, we messed up. This whole stupid mess is just driving me crazy though Kas! We shouldn’t even be a part of this when you think about it!” The others looked at him as he ranted on. “I wish my dad never created these stupid monsters in the first place! He should have known they would get greedy and try to kill us!” He held a hand to his face. “I’m gonna be twenty-six, we didn’t want to wait forever to get married and do everything we talked about,” the taller ninja slumped forward as he walked. “Now we’re just going to be separated even more by this.”

“Cheer up! We’re going to be kicking some more snake ass in Sakura today. Hypnobrai enslaved everyone left to start building more weapons for them, so that means we’ll have to get to the general to get the anti-venom and heal everyone,” Rose explained. “Master Taika will be waiting for us outside the city gates for us, hidden from sight. She said to use the trees in case there’re guards.”

Kasai sighed at hearing the news of his grandmother being there. “Oh boy,” he loved her, but she babied him and was always pretty demanding if he wasn’t up to par with the others. “Whatever, let’s hurry! We need to get there by nightfall before they start mobilizing.”

“Yes, cover of the night will help us out a lot too,” Tanaka nodded. “And no explosives this time Edna, Sakura is built on a lake, we don’t need any houses to sink. We go in, get the cure, chase the snakes off or kill them,” he explained. She looked a bit disappointed, but understood. Unlike the other towns, Sakura was still in decent shape without much damage, no need to add to the destruction of the war. 

 

Misako looked out the window with a longing stare as she was curled up at the window seat. “I don’t want to be here sitting on my ass and doing desk work.” She gripped the fabric of her shirt over her stomach. “When your father comes back, we’re all gonna runaway. I’m sick of this war, I’m sick of everything.” 

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a tap on her shoulder. “Um, sorry to bother you miss Misako-”

“What!?” She snapped, stopping when she saw Ella flinch and retract. Her intense look vanished quickly. “I’m sorry Ella,” Misako lowered her head, feeling bad she had scared her. “What is it?”

“Well, we kind of thought that you might be upset that you have to stay around here with us, so Anthony and I were thinking we could take you into town,” she offered, “to, you know, help take your mind off of things a little.” She looked at her feet, bouncing on the balls. “A little noodle shop just opened up and you skipped out of breakfast…” she trailed off, clearly nervous. Anthony had come up to put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. 

Ella mainly kept to herself and only talked to Anthony, Sayu, Tanaka, and Namiko. She often avoided the rowdier of the bunch, but she mainly was quiet around Misako. Perhaps it was out of pure intimidation towards her since she was always built up to be this fierce fighter and leader. 

Misako turned her body, facing the two. “Um, sure,” she nodded. “Thank you, that’s very kind of you guys to do that for me.” The older woman got to her feet. “I guess I should go get dressed then.” She walked past them, “Oh, you guys can also just call me Mimi. You’re a part of the team too you know. You don’t have to be so scared to come talk to me.”

The two smiled back when she said that and disappeared into her room. Ella looked back to the other boy though when Misako left to change from her sleepwear. “She made you wet your pants, didn’t she?” 

“She scared me!” The auburn haired one cried, shoving her. 

Ella started giggling though. “I like her; I don’t know why I was always scared to talk to her and the others.”

Anthony started shuffling away to actually change his underwear. “Ellie, they could deck the two of us into next week. You have every right to be scared. I didn’t sign up for this you know.” 

“And I thank you for accompanying me here for my training and putting up with all of this,” she nodded, thanking him, still giggling.

“Someone had to look out for you,” he sighed.

 

The three were waiting outside the noodle shop, waiting for a table to clear so they could be seated next. It was a quaint little shop, definitely not big enough to accommodate too many people so it was no wonder the shop keeper was so frazzled; they clearly underestimated the amount of ramen lovers that lived here. 

“Wow, I didn’t expect they’d be so busy a week after opening up,” Anthony looked through the window, it was pretty crowded still. “It’s so cold out; I wish we could go in already!” He glanced back at the gray clouds; it was probably going to start raining soon. 

“It’s fine; getting use to the elements will do you good,” Misako was sat on the bench outside, not even shivering. “Besides, this is nothing compared to the mountains in the dead of winter. Sometimes, you won’t even get the benefit of having much more than a tent to retreat to during a fight.”

Ella plopped down next to her. “So, what’s it like being one of “The Great Heroes of Ninjago”? Have you guys really razed a whole city before?! Because that’s what the other masters say!” She was turning on her fangirl mode it seemed; at least she didn’t look so scared anymore. 

“That was… greatly exaggerated, trust me.” Misako laughed, knowing there must have been a thousand and one rumors about them all. “But, we have been known to cause some mass damage for sure. It’s not that hard when we have two earth masters working together.” She looked at her feet, smile fading. “I hope they’ll be okay without me.”

“Oh, I’m sure they will be!” Ella interjected. “They’ll have Tanaka right? Isn’t he your number two basically? And then Garmadon is considered a master of destruction! They’ll be just fine!”

Anthony rolled his eyes, turning back to the girls, “Oh come on; Tanaka’s so quiet all the time! He might be super smart, but he’s no leader Ellie. You just idolize him to a fault because you think he’s so attractive.” He poked her nose. The younger girl was blushing harder while Misako laughed. 

“Hey, maybe he’ll ask you out when they get back, you never know.” Misako added to the embarrassment of the other. “I can see it now, the two of you living happily ever after, ten kids, and a place in Birchwood with his brother-”

“Oh my gooooosh!!” Ella was trying to get the other two to shut up, but they kept laughing. It was rather cute how easily flustered she was becoming. “H-He’d never be into that! I doubt he wants kids, and he doesn’t like me that way!” 

Finally the conversation was cut and Ella changed the subject. “So what do you want it to be?” 

Misako looked confused for a moment, before registering she was talking about the baby. “Oh,” she held a hand to her stomach. “Well, we’ll know in a couple more months I think, but I had a few names in mind I guess,” she frowned. “Garmadon’s hoping for a girl, he always wanted a little girl to spoil, but I know he wouldn’t care either way,” she smiled. “Maybe, Willow? Lydia? I don’t know, Hope I think? We also considered naming her after his mother.”

“I like that name, Hope I mean.” Anthony chimed in. “Kind of funny how we’re in the middle of war,” he sighed. “We could use some hope to end this faster.”

“You can say that again-”

“Oh lil ‘sako,” the conversation was interrupted. 

“Ronin,” the younger sister folded her arms as she addressed the newcomer. “Didn’t know you were in town, thought you were too busy stealing shit and undermining our war effort,” she leaned back, looking him in the eye, coughing a bit from the smoke from the lit cigarette he had between his teeth. 

He pretended to look hurt by her accusations, holding the cigarette. “You never seem to have anything nice to say when you see me.” He dropped the cigarette butt and stomped it out on the pavement. “Nah, I was just passing by when my excellent hearing thought they heard a conversation about you having a baby? That was a hypothetical right?”

“No, it’s not,” Misako firmly said. “I am pregnant.”

He didn’t look so amused anymore. “Mom would be so proud…” he shook his head, sarcastically laughing. “I thought you were the responsible one out of the two of us. I guess everyone was wrong about it.” She looked away, cheeks on fire now.

“Leave her alone,” Ella and Anthony were right at her sides. “We’ve heard stories about you, not surprising you’re making fun of her.” The older man shook his head as they lectured him. “What kind of guy does that to his little sister?!”

Misako stood up, almost eye level with him as she held her hands out to call off the younger friends. “You forget I’m a grown ass woman and Garmadon would never leave me and he’s just as excited about our baby as I am. He’s loyal. Something you never were.”

“If he’s such a loyal partner, where is he now? I heard Ninjago’s finest are off to fight in another little skirmish. Guess they didn’t want you to slow them down?” Her brother shot back. The two younger ninja to be just glanced back at forth as they talked. “And you always said you could handle yourself, so why did it matter if I ducked out once?”

She looked pissed. “Twenty-four times actually. I counted.” She pulled his hair a bit when he gave her a snarky look. “Get a haircut and shave, you look like a hobo.”

“You never answered my question, Mimi.”

“Like I’ll tell you where he and the others had to go exactly? For all I know you could be working for the snakes today and would alert them to their whereabouts and get everyone in deeper shit.” She growled.

“Fine, forget I said anything- or just forget I was ever in town come to think of it,” he held his hands up and walked around her, glancing back. “My baby sis is gonna be a mommy… I should write to mom and dad about this.”

“They disowned you too you know,” Misako called after him, getting angrier with the thought of her parents knowing about this. The last thing she needed was them in their lives again. “Oh he’s just bluffing, you should see him in poker games.” She mumbled, turning away. 

After some silence, Ella and Anthony spoke up again. “So what the hell was that all about!? Loyalty? Your parents? Disowning!?”

Misako shook her head and turned away. “We did some stupid stuff as kids; that’s all. It was before I started living full time at the monastery as a student to get out of my awful home. They’re things that I do regret, but it’s not important anymore. It’s in the past.” She smirked a bit, “funny enough, my parents shipped me off here to start reforming me, so I guess I’m grateful to them for that.”

“Do you talk to your parents though?”

She shrugged. “They write and call every so often, but I almost never hear from them and I don’t care if I do. They’re busy anyways.” She rubbed her stomach. They looked curious. “They’re photographers for documentaries and all kinds of history and nature magazines. Maybe we were hell-children to get attention or something since they were gone so much.” 

The two felt even worse for her. “Well, maybe you’ll get the chance to see them in person and have a better relationship with them.” Ella tried to throw some positivity in there. “Maybe they’ll see how great you’ve become and know that you turned out good in the end.”

Misako smiled sadly, “That would really nice actually. Maybe when things start to clear up… or when I have the baby, that’d be a good time to try and get back in touch with them.” She sighed at the thought; she hadn’t even thought about her family much after all this time. 

The conversation was interrupted and they were finally able to be seated, so the three headed inside, though the younger two couldn’t help but want to know more about this mysterious back story Misako seemed to be hiding for them. “Just one story, that’s all we’re asking! Pleeeeeease?!” The whined on. “We wanna know more about this mysterious former life of yours!”

“Guys, please,” she folded her menu down on the table, glaring through her glasses. “Not now, I don’t wanna relive any of that while I’m out supposedly to take my mind OFF of stressful things. Some other time you can ask me maybe.” She offered. The others stopped asking, agreeing to the terms.


	7. Chapter 6

The Mountain of Impossible Heights, Hikari Village, April 1983

Wu pulled back he curtain as he peeked out the window. The girls had been sitting outside under the tree in the courtyard; Ella was making flower crowns from the blossoms that had fallen from the branches above them. Sayu was playing with the air, swirling the petals in her hands. Misako was reading as usual as she allowed Ella to play with her long hair and try different braids.

He sighed, pulling the curtain back across, wondering if he should go outside as he plopped on the couch, staring at the ceiling. It had been almost three whole days since the others left for Sakura and all was silent still. His father was with Anthony, probably in town still for whatever reason. The door then slid open, startling him. It was Sayu.

“Hey uh, are you going to come out? It’s such a lovely day.” she asked. He turned to look at her. “Ella, um, made you this out of the cherry blossoms,” she held up one of the twist rings of pink flowers the younger girl was crafting. “I said you’d never be caught dead with this, but she insisted you have it nonetheless.” She giggled a bit. “I think it would look quite charming on you.”

The blond sighed and got up, walking up to the other, hesitating to take it. “I’d ruin your fun if I went out there.” He glanced up.

“Come on,” Sayu frowned. “Listen,” she started, hesitant for a moment to maybe change the subject, but continued on, “you’re going to have to make a choice sooner or later,” she held her hand to his chest as she paused, “because I won’t stick around if you continue to chase something you know you can’t have. I can’t be here to watch you destroy yourself. It pains my heart to see.”

“Yu-”

“I told you that I would be here for you and maybe help you through all of this, you don’t scare me; I know you have a good heart somewhere in here.” She then retracted her hand again, shoving the flower crown into his hands more. “Your brother has Misako’s heart Wu, they are having a child, and they will more than most likely get married soon. You’re going to have to accept that.”

Wu avoided her gaze now, looking guilty and torn, she continued though. “Whether you pick me or some other girl, I just want you to see how unhealthy this is and move on.”

“I know, I keep telling myself it’s useless, but maybe I thought that since they were all competitive as kids and she and I got along so great… I just, I don’t know what I expected. Maybe that she would rather have me?” He flinched when Sayu took his hand. “I’m such a jackass.”

“You really are.” She agreed with him. “Garmadon told me by the way.” Sayu quietly told Wu. “He told me that you came to him a while back, saying you might have feelings for me.” She blushed, biting her lips to withhold a smile.

“That piece of shit,” Wu muttered. “I’ll kill him when he gets back-”

“I’m actually very glad he told me that.” Sayu cut him off. The younger ninja looked confused. “Because that just means you’re scared to get close to someone, so you hide behind a childhood crush, knowing that it will never work. You don’t hate me like how I think you did after all, you’re not afraid of me.”

Wu shifted his stance, lowering his head. “Why would I hate you? You’ve been nothing but nice since day one.”

“Because sometimes Wu, you give off the vibe that you don’t like anyone and you’re just toying with my emotions for your own entertainment.” She sternly said. “Sometimes you accept my presence, my help, my… I guess love, but other times you seem to go out of your way to avoid me or to remind me that I’m not like Misako. So I want an answer right here and now; do you love me?”

“I-”

“Hey guys!” Ella popped in, darting to the kitchen, “Do you know if we have any marshmallows? It’s getting a bit dark out master said we can have little campout earlier since the whole war thing has been quiet and the weather is warming up again! Finally, am I right?!” She laughed. “Hey Wu, the crown’s for your head, not for you to carry around,” she laughed when she saw he was still carrying it. 

The other two shifted away from each other as the young girl intruded on their very important conversation. Wu glared at the back of Ella’s head as she searched a cabinet, before Sayu pulled him more into the hallway to continue without another distraction. She looked back at him again, expecting the answer he was about to give. 

“Yes.” He finally got out. 

Sayu’s shoulders raised and her eyebrows perked up, signaling she was surprised he said that. “You do? No jokes?” Wu nodded, clearly blushing now out of embarrassment, turning away. “Oh Wu,” she hugged him from behind. 

The blond sighed again, turning more towards her again and put an arm around the air master. “Please don’t ever leave me,” he leaned his head against hers. “Please, you’re the only person who cares about me. I’m sorry I’m such an awful person.”

“Don’t say that, plenty of other people care about you,” she held a hand to his face. “Your brother does, Misako I’m sure does to a degree, your friends-”

“No, my brother might, but not the others. Not anymore.” He shook his head, thinking about how little of interactions they all had had in the past several years, ever since he was bitten. “I’ve dug that hole a little too deep and I couldn’t get out of it.” 

She hugged him again, “Well they will care again if you fight this… whatever thing that makes you so bitter. Plus, your father loves you too deep down; he just wants to bring out the best in you I think.”

“Heh,” he let out, ignoring the comment about Masuta, she was never going to understand the complicated relationship there. “You know, for once, I think I might feel happy again.” He admitted. 

“Good.” She let go, pulling him along. “Let’s go help Ella and head outside then if you don’t want to be a hermit today!” 

“Hey, wait, Yu!” He stopped her. She looked back. “I don’t want to tell the others if we’re um, going to be a “thing” now. Not yet anyways.” Wu admitted.

She released his hand. “Oh, sure, I can understand I guess.” She nodded. “But you have to promise to start trying to stop your outbursts and moods.”

“Okay,” he nodded. 

 

Sakura Falls Village, Eastern Great Lakes, April 1983

 

“Hey, there she is,” Rose noticed the older woman they were supposed to meet up with as the sun was getting lower in the sky. She was camped out in a tree, peeking over the walls of the town they had to liberate. Like the skilled ninja she was, Rose was the first to jog ahead and join the elder. “Your back up is here.”

“I was wondering when you’d come.” Taika grimaced. “If my instincts and self-preservation weren’t so good, I’d just charge in and burn this place down to be rid of those monsters.” She mumbled, but shook her head, looking back to the younger fighters. Well, at least that’s where Kasai got his hot-bloodedness from! “Whatever, not the point, let’s get this over with.”

Garmadon nodded. “So, what’s the plan exactly? You know more about the situation than we do.” He peeked over the wall as well, noticing how the villagers moped around in a trance that made them look like zombies. “There’s an anti-venom we can use, yes?”

Taika sighed, “Yeah, General Slitheraa, who’s actually here, has it; and guess where his fat, blue ass is?” She gestured for the others to look as well. “Right in the center of the city of course! It’ll be hard to get past all these people and snakes; surely they’ll spot us and alert the whole town! I don’t even know how many snakes are stationed here, I lost track. Darn things all look the same.”

“Why do they even need these people alive? Normally Serpentine just kill humans onsite, they’re not a big fan of slaves.” Tanaka tilted his head as he contemplated this. “There has to be a reason they’re keeping them alive.”

“I can answer that as well,” The older fire master continued. “I don’t know what they’re building, but they want human slave labor to make it; probably weapons and heavier firepower so they can try to overtake us with better ease!” 

“That would make a lot of sense,” Kasai and Namiko agreed, taking a seat on the lower branches as the group discussed a plan of action. “If it’s a heavy duty weapon, maybe explosives of sorts…? But it would be really dangerous because they’re on a lake town. Talk about a dumb idea if someone slips up.” Namiko chuckled. “Serpentine can’t swim, can they?”

“Whoa, they almost look like firework cannons,” Edna observed as she squinted through her glasses, trying to catch a better glimpse of the little warehouse. “Yeah, I think they’re modified cannons that were for fireworks during festivals. I know Sakura Falls is big with celebrating traditional holidays, they must have a bunch of stuff the snakes thought to make use of.”

Garmadon jumped down and pulled his sword out, using one eye to look through the crack in the gates for any guards. The others just looked at him with concerned. You see, Misako wasn’t here, so there was a much higher risk of him doing something very stupid and rash.

“I thought Mimi said to not do something that could get yourself killed.” Namiko raised an eyebrow. “This looks like it’ll definitely be potentially life endangering my guy.”

He turned and shrugged, “Well, I’m the only one with any skill in the shadow arts, so I can technically go stealth.” He demonstrated by putting his back to the gate, body melting away until there was just his silhouette outline. “Now shhhhh,” he told them. “I can scout better like this and we can totally catch them off guard!”

Namiko shook her head and jumped down next. “No way you’re going in alone,” she held an arm out as it turned to a more liquid form. “Been practicing my water body magic. I can sneak along the perimeter in the water without being noticed and maybe draw some attention. Maybe even listen in below the boardwalks.”

“Nu-huh!” Kasai interjected, grabbing his girlfriend’s forearm. “You guys will get yourselves caught for sure and then the rest of us will have to bust in and save your sorry asses!” 

“Got a better plan?” Namiko swatted his hand away as he tried to hold onto her. Taika just laughed though as her poor grandson’s concern was rejected.

“Oh boy, I hope I live long enough to see the wedding, she’s a riot Kassy! For a water master, she has a lot of fire and moxie! Reminds me of your mother come to think of it,” The woman climbed down as well. “I admire the wanting to help; go on and try not to get caught you two!” 

“Will do ma’am,” Namiko and Garmadon snuck through the gate, Namiko slinking into the canal that ran through the center of the town between the boardwalks, Garmadon sticking to the most shadowed parts of the houses and buildings.

The villagers seemed to not be in guard mode though, as they appeared to only be focused on these supposed cannons Edna assumed they were making. Boy for a town called Sakura Falls, it was looking awfully bleak and depressing. The shadow ninja finally got within ear shot of who he assumed to be General Slitheraa.

“I can’t wait until Arcturus sees this! Once we’re done manufacturing these, the first test will be to use them to rip through this town and sink all the humans with it!” The snake hissed with laughter. “Oh this will solidify my position as his favorite general now; I’m sure of it!” 

Garmadon almost audibly gasped when he heard that. It looked like they’d have to work quick. He spied the crystal blue bauble on the golden staff the head snake carried, thinking of the best way to retrieve it and bring the townspeople out of the hypnosis. Then again, they’d most like just run amuck and panic and maybe even get killed in the process. Perhaps it would be best to snatch the bauble and dismantle this project, then save the people? 

Then again, they also could run the risk of the general turning the people into their enemies and then they’d have to fight the townspeople. That was probably the worst of the options.

He internally groaned as he thought more to himself. “Surely Misako would have this all worked out by now!” He was really wishing his girlfriend came along more than ever. He came out of his thoughts though when he heard Slitheraa talk again. 

“You know, I wonder how Arcturus’ boy is doing. I heard he got gutsy and took a whole group of Anacondrai to Jumonokai! Most of our other squads have reported in and we now have tabs on most of the masters as being away from the hub of operations. He’s going for the big guns and is after our lord and creator himself! The old man will finally get what’s coming to him!” 

“And once he’s taken out, the whole resistance will crumble, and we’ll rule the land! No more icky humans!!” All the snakes laughed collectively. “We’ll force the survivors to stay underground maybe! I do like the sound of that.”

Garmadon felt his heart drop as he felt cold and sick now. “If that’s true, then Misako is in one of the most dangerous places of all right now!” He was in such a state of shock, he almost phased out of his shadow form, which may have caught the attention of some of the enemies. 

“What was that? Did you see something just now? In the shadows?”

“Is one of those elemental ninjas playing spy?”

The young man had to do something to get out of this. He sighed and took off, not caring if people could see his form along the walls. He ran through the gates and took off past the others.

“Where the hell are you going now!?” Taika shouted after him. “What’s the status on the cannons!? Did any of them see you?!” She was trying to figure out was wrong this time.

“You guys can handle this without me! I need to get home right now!” He panted. “Anacondrai are about to march on Jumonokai!” 

“Dear gods,” Rose breathed. “Misako…” She jumped down and took off with the older boy. “Wait! Garm! I’m coming too! HANG ON!!” 

Tanaka, Edna, Kasai, and Taika all just looked at one another, they couldn’t just leave now to help them; they still had a job to complete, with or without the other two. “Well come on, no time to waste,” Taika pulled her fans out, rolling her long sleeves up. “They’re gonna know we’re here eventually with those two shouting.” She kicked the gates open with the others in tow. “Poor Namiko must not know what’s going on.”

 

Rose finally caught up to Garmadon as they were almost out of the current forest. “Don’t you have the teleportation scroll magic?! Why can’t we just use that if we’re in such a hurry!?” She felt her lungs burn as she was reaching her limits of speed. “Damn! How can you run this fast!?” It was a dumb question, considering how protective he was about his girlfriend. 

Garmadon fumbled to pull the scroll out, being even he forgot he swiped it from his father again, and quickly grabbed the other earth master by the hand, trying to pronounce the spell right, but he was just in too much of a panic for it to be done properly.

“Okay, slow down!” Rose finally stood her ground, pulling him to a stop. “Catch your breath first dumbass! I don’t need you putting my ass over the North Sea because you’re losing your shit here! I care about Misako too; I care about all the other students at the monastery. All of you are the only family I have left, so let’s try and do this properly, please?”

He nodded stiffly, oh boy did he feel the burn on his whole body, inside and out. He was going to be no use to the others if he tired himself out. And poor Rose, she was still dealing with her father’s death months ago; it really hit her hard, though she didn’t show it a lot. 

“Okay, okay, we’ll get there and make sure everything’s okay.” He grabbed her hand again and opened the scroll once more. “Geez, my throat hurts,” he panted again. 

“You are the dumbest piece of work ever! Why is my cousin so in love with you again!?” Rose got more frustrated. 

 

Misako was sitting on the porch, watching the others mess around with the training tools, sipping her tea while Ella was closing up the bag of marshmallows, still chewing on one. “Man, too bad the others weren’t here for this! I hope all is going well with the Sakura situation.” She sighed. “I lived there for a few years before coming here, it was a lovely place.”

“Yes, I too have a sister that resides there with her baby daughter.” Sayu nodded, throwing some dirt on the little fire they had made before. “The sun’s almost down entirely; we should wrap things up and wind down.” She suggested as she walked back up the steps of the porch.

“Hey! Wu, tonfas are not supposed to be used like that!” she called the younger boy out when she saw he had smacked Anthony in the face. “I thought we agreed nothing above the belt!” 

Sayu held a hand to her mouth as she giggled a bit. “He always plays dirty, poor Anthony.” She got to her feet and picked the tea pot up that was sitting beside Misako. “Shall I make some more for us?” The girl asked. 

“Yes please,” Misako nodded. “Thank you Yuyu,” She looked back to the other three as they horsed around more. “Ugh, when’s sensei getting back again? You all clearly don’t listen to me.” She rubbed her stomach, wondering where the old man vanished off to this time. “I hope they got to Sakura okay, it’s almost a three day trip if you walk, and Masuta forbade anymore teleportation magic… well, for Garm anyways.” She knew he probably swiped the scroll again anyways.

The gates of the monastery flew open though as one of the elemental masters came through. “Anacondrai!” She shouted loudly, a look of true terror in her dark eyes. 

The four who were still outside had dropped what they were doing and stared at the newcomer. Sayu even ran out when she heard the dreaded word. “Here?” she squeaked, clutching the teapot. Up until now, the fabled Anacondrai had yet to make an appearance on the mainland, why now of all times did they have to show up!?

“They’ll burn Jumonokai and Hikari down and then march up to the monastery.” Ella covered her mouth, shaking. Come to think of it, she was never in an actual battle before. “What are we gonna do!? Masuta still isn’t back yet!” The poor girl was panicking even more.

Misako was the only one who marched down the steps without hesitation. “Let’s go then Raven, we don’t have a lot of time if it really is Anacondrai warriors.” She looked over to the rack of weapons and pulled a scythe out, glancing to the others. “You guys coming or what?”

“I thought you were supposed to stay out of fighting,” Sayu hurried to her side. “Garmadon would never forgive himself if you or your child were hurt.” She reminded her. 

“Well we don’t have a lot of assets nearby; I’ll be fine, I have all of you to help me,” the older master placed a hand on the wind master’s shoulder for reassurance. “Step it up now, we only have a couple of masters down in the villages.” She glanced at Wu who seemed to begrudgingly drop the training weapons and went for a sword and set of nunchucks. “Thank you,” she curtly said.

The rest of the group grabbed their weapons of choice, Anthony had a spear, Misako grabbed a crossbow as a backup weapon, Ella took a pouch of throwing stars, smoke pellets, and a short sword for herself, and Sayu had her fans. 

“Well, here’s hoping we’ll be enough for now,” Raven sighed, grabbing for her personal katana that was strapped to her back. “All we have left nearby is Neuro, Jacob, and Master Turner, but they’re all in Jumonokai fighting. Most of the other Anacondrai were making moves towards Hikari and well, eventually here at the monastery.”

“No time to waste then,” Misako started down first. 

 

Garmadon and Rose were sprawled on the ground in the middle of alcove of trees and bushes, both still tired from the short, but strained sprint. “Did we make it?” she asked him, trying to sit up and better observe their surroundings, sniffing the air to find a hint of citrus. “Hey, I think we’re not far away at all! This looks like Blossom Forest!” She jumped to her feet. 

“You’re right, let’s go!” He got up next, starting to run again towards the path to Hikari. 

“I hope the rumors are fake. I hope you heard wrong, I really do.” Rose sighed, “I heard awful things about these snakes. They’re scales are thick and they have twice the strength of a Constrictai! Plus their jaws are more powerful than any Fangpyre!” 

“It doesn’t matter how strong they might be because we have to stop them and protect the base no matter what! They get this far inland and it’s all just a lost cause!” He clenched his teeth as he thought about all the work they put in over the last two or so years. If Misako found out about the attack already, then she might very well be at their destination, which of course was the case. 

 

Misako gripped her scythe staff tightly as she looked at the three purple snakes moving towards her, spears pointed. She shook the ground with the stomp of her foot and whipped the sharp blade around with all her strength, surprised to find she wasn’t hindered. She looked back at her handiwork to find she managed to hit two, decapitating them. Good thing she recently sharpened the weapon, though there was that pesky third to fight off.

Her scythe scraped against the spearhead of the enemy’s weapon. “You’re pathetic human friends should just surrender now! You are no match for us!” He hissed.

“Well I just took off the heads to two of your buddies,” she shot back. “I wouldn’t call that weak you know.” She shoved him off of her and gained some distance between them, reaching for the crossbow she had also grabbed. “There is nothing that gives you the right to kill us without mercy.” She aimed at his head. “There was an agreement!”

“One that only benefitted you!” 

“You’re snakes! Snakes don’t live above ground you idiots!” Misako raised an eyebrow. “We didn’t enslave you; we weren’t mean to you! The deal was your own towns remain as underground, we never said you couldn’t come to the surface!” She put her finger on the trigger, ready to shoot. “Most towns treated you like any other normal being!”

“Well my father taught me all about the selfish, mutilation of life and resources you stupid humans do.” The Anacondrai snapped at her and she missed her shot she was shaking so much. Raven was right; these things were terrifying to be near. She dropped the crossbow and backed up against the side of a building, one arm wrapped around her abdomen protectively. “Now please, die quick and easy for me.” He pointed the spear at her chest. 

Misako tensed up, other hand grabbing the pole of the weapon. “Listen here you son of a bitch, the last thing you ever want to do is to corner a mother dragon.” She squeezed her hand and the spear shattered into a pile of splintered wood and stone. She grabbed her scythe again and pointed at him. “Because the gods know that I won’t die here today.”

“KOKO!” The nickname and familiar voice that went with it grabbed her attention right away. A purple ball of flames flew in, knocking the snake to the ground, singing his cloak and armor. “Oh Koko,” Garmadon came into view, running right to her, arms pulling her into a warm hug. 

She hugged him right back, tighter. “I thought that… you were- I, how did you get here so fast? How did you even know? I only just hear not twenty minutes ago!” She then saw Rose coming up to them as well. “Is everyone here?” She glanced around, wondering if they would have the dream team to scare the snakes off. 

“No, just us,” her cousin panted from the run over. “G here overheard the Hypnobrai talking about a strike here in the mountain towns and well, he had to make sure you were safe.” Rose smiled, gesturing to Garmadon. 

“You risked getting punished by your father to make sure I was okay?” His smaller girlfriend blinked. 

“Is it REALLY that much of a surprise to you? Of course I’d rather disobey him and help you!!” The brunette rolled his eyes, but kissed her cheek. “Are you okay though?” He looked her over. “Is the baby okay?! Did you fall at all or get kicked around?” He held a hand to her stomach. 

She shook her head, taking his hand. “I’m fine, we’re both fine, I promise.” She swallowed. “We have to find the others though and help them. Anthony, Ella, Sayu, Wu, and Raven are all around here somewhere. I haven’t ran into any of the other masters that were hanging around though.” She informed the other two. “We have a few in Jumonokai, but a lot of them are making their way here right now.”

“I’m all over it,” Rose nodded and started off first. “I’ll skin those bastards’ sorry ass hides!” 

The couple was left alone and Misako knew what was coming so she held a hand to his mouth. “I know you’re going to tell me to go home and let you handle this, but what kind of warrior, friend, and person would I be to just leave now?”

“But the-”

“I know; I know I should think about our baby first, I get it, if I could go back I would, but the whole goal was to make sure we end this war as soon as possible. We didn’t want to bring her into any of this, so we have about seven months or so to wrap this whole thing up,” she gestured to the snakes she beheaded before. 

“You said “her”?”

“Well, I got a good feeling you’re right,” Misako blushed a bit. “Come on though, we can discuss baby names later! For now, let’s kick some ass,” she squeezed his hand. 

Garmadon shook his head, damn this woman could be so stubborn, but he had no choice but to agree to her staying and fighting. “Sounds like a plan,” they took off down the road, not even making sure the third snake was dead they were so caught up in the moment. 

The creature weakly lifted his head and glared at the two masters who were moving on to their next fight, pink eyes narrowing with disdain.

 

“Wu behind you!” Sayu shouted and held her hands together, making a mini hurricane that saved the blond from a knife to the back. “Please be more aware of your surroundings-” She jumped when he threw a lightning bolt her way, just barely missing her, though her long black and green hair held a static charge.

She glanced back to see the charred remains of a snake warrior. Wu walked by her, “Pay more attention or else you could get yourself killed Yuyu.” She blushed when he was well past her. “I’m sure there’s a lot more we haven’t seen yet.”

“Of course,” she followed, jumping when she heard the thunder, knowing it was probably because of Wu’s lighting powers. “I do wonder where your father has vanished off to. If he went into town like he said, then he would have seen this and surely could win the fight with a wave of his hand!” 

Wu shook his head, “He only says he’s coming to town to avoid saying where he really goes.” He explained. “Father is… a selfish being. He could easily use the gold weapons to wipe the snakes from existence, but instead he makes us do his dirty work. I see that now,” He looked at his reflection on his sword. “Sometimes I don’t even think he wanted sons. Maybe he just wanted errand boys.”

“Don’t write him off completely. Maybe he’s just getting old and is hiding it from everyone so we won’t worry?”

“Sayu, I know your dad is all buddy-buddy with mine and talked him up a lot, but try not to be so blind.”

She sighed. “I’m not being blind, but maybe he really is losing his powers at the very least. He could very well be bluffing to those Serpentine generals about his power.”

Wu scoffed at the suggested idea, though the two flinched when they heard a girl’s scream. His mind jumped to Misako first, but realized the voice was much too young and high for it to be her. They both ran to the source. 

“Ella,” Sayu gasped. The small, black haired girl was on the ground, trying to hold herself up as one hand was balled into a fist. She had thick vines and roots that busted up the dark, cobbled ground that was now cracked; they were wrapped around five of the Anacondrai that had jumped her, choking them to death as her hand balled up even tighter. At first glance, nothing seemed to be too wrong with her. “Oh my, she’s far more powerful than I expected. Was she actually holding back the entire time?” 

“Maybe she just needed to be in a dire situation,” Wu suggested, staring. He knew Ella was very much in pain though as he noticed the gaping hole where her stomach should have been as well as the multiple stab holes the snakes must have put in her. 

Sayu would not notice this until the girl collapsed, rolling onto her back, a trembling mess as she gasped for air. 

“We have to get her to a hospital right away!” Sayu pulled Ella into her arms. 

Wu had to be the bearer of bad news though. “No use, the nearest hospital is in Ninjago City, miles away, she’ll never make it even if we tried, and just forget about teleportation magic, it would kill her instantly since there’s way too much damage to her body.” 

“W-well we’ll just get a water master nearby-” Wu just shook his head at her suggestions. “It’s just us, a shadow master, and a few miles away, mind, speed, and sound…” She trailed off, “You’re right; we’re sitting ducks without any aid up here.” She felt like she was going to throw up. “Ellie? Ellie, you- you can make it, right? You’re a nature master, you can-”

Ella fell silent and stiff though before Sayu could finish.

The air master choked on her tears as she continued to hold the body. Wu had to pry her hands off. “Sayu, it’s not your fault.” He told her, taken aback at how personal she seemed to be taking this. “Don’t tell me you blame yourself! She went off on her own-” 

“I was older than her! I should have protected her! She admire me and everyone else and she just… she just died in my arms just now,” she looked at her hands. “She’s dead Wu.” She whispered, barely able to make a noise she was so horrified. “That girl who was with us for months? The one that was just laughing and smiling, playing with the flowers… she shouldn’t have even been here in the first place.” 

Wu nodded along, letting silence slip in before speaking up. “I, well, don’t want to sound too insensitive here,” he picked his words carefully, remembering how he said he was going to try not to be such a jerk anymore, “but we need to make sure we eradicate the rest of the Anacondrai before we can mourn properly.” He was glad to see she agreed and he helped her to her feet. “Come on.”

“But her body…?”

“We’ll have to come back for it after the fight.” He pulled her along. “Let’s just make sure no one else dies while we worry about the ones who already are dead.”

To be honest, he did feel like this wasn’t real. The last time he had to watch someone die was his own mother, and that was years ago, not to mention she died of an illness, not having half her organs get blown out with open wounds, blood everywhere.

“Do we even know how many are here?” Sayu asked, holding Wu’s hand tightly. “There can’t be that much more right-?” The two jumped back when the saw a building go up in flames. “Oh my.” She shook her head, realizing how much trouble they were in. 

“Augh, come on!” Wu rolled his eyes and ran. “Friggin snakes!”


	8. Chapter 7

The morning before the Anacondrai attack…

“Hey Anthony!”

The young man in question looked up when he saw Ella trotting over to him from the front gate, a stack of letters in hand. “Oh, mail came already?” He stood. 

“Mm-hmm!” She nodded, handing up a fairly weathered envelope. “Looks like Serena sent you something!” The younger giggled. “It feels like forever since we saw her and Auntie Iris, I really miss them. I think it was almost a year since they came to west side of Ninjago City, just to see us!”

He nodded, taking the envelope; it’d be a lie to say he wasn’t eager to read it. “Well, I only came along with you here because you wanted to train under Masuta so badly when the recruitment notice went out,” he chuckled. “I appreciate you keeping your mouth shut about my lack of elemental bloodline; they all still think I haven’t unlocked my powers yet and that I’m some relation of a long dead smoke master.”

“Oh, right, but, I mean, you know they’ll learn eventually the longer you’re here,” Ella sat next to her friend. “And when they do, you’ll probably get booted since they’re really limiting normal civilians from fighting now, too many casualties in the last big bout down south-west of here.”

“Well, I don’t really care about being able to fight or not you know. As you like to remind me all the time, I’m a lover, not a fighter” Anthony joked as he ripped the envelope open, focusing on that instead. “Man, I do miss her badly,” he smiled when starting to read the letter. “I told her as soon as we come back, we’ll get married.”

“Well,” Ella sighed, “You can always go back home any time you want, I’ll be fine on my own. After all, I’m almost twenty, I can handle myself!” She leaned against his shoulder, but he dismissed the idea, shaking his head. “Oh come on! You’ve seen how much I’ve grown! Besides, Tanaka and the others promised that when I do get involved in a fight, they’d always have my back and make sure nothing bad would ever-”

“Ella,” he stopped her. “My answer is and will always be no, I’m here to stay with you until this war is over. If you wish to continue training after it, then I’ll leave you here. I need to protect you. Your parents made me promise that.” He trailed off.

“Hey what’s up?” She noticed he stopped listening to her go on; his eyes were fixed to the letter now, blocking her out entirely. “Tony?” She shook his shoulder. “Is everything okay back home? Did something happen to Iris!?” He shook his head. “Oh my gosh, what about Serena?! Did snakes attack!? Or maybe skeletons…” she made herself jump.

He folded the letter back up, leaning back against one of the poles on the deck, staring off into space. “Serena had a baby.”

Ella’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh shit!” She held a hand over her mouth when he heard her curse. “Um, well, you two- uh?? I didn’t know…”

“Yep, neither did I,” the paper crumpled a bit as his hand squeezed into a fist. “Some timing she has! Was she just going to wait years for me until this war was done?” He held a hand to his face, reconsidering his choice to stay with Ella. “I guess the last time she came by… when,” he glanced back at Ella and shut his mouth. “Well, she named him Ash.” He stuffed the letter in his pocket.

“Ah, well, nice name! Pretty fitting since he might take on her element, right?” She took his hand. “Please, go back home. I know she wants you there.” He seemed more torn. “We’ve known each other almost all our lives, you took me in when my family died, I get it you just want to protect me and my family’s legacy since there aren’t many nature masters left, but don’t let her raise your son all on her own. Think about your family now.”

“But you’re family too!”

Ella glared at him. Her sweet face didn’t look so sweet anymore as she sternly and silently told him to go back home.

“Fine, two more weeks.” He sat back up. “I’ll write her back and then I’ll just split one night. You can tell them whatever you want, a lie or any amount of the truth. It’s pretty hard to keep up this lie I told anyways.” He patted her head. “In the meantime, I gotta protect you until your boyfriend gets back so he can take over for me.”

Ella blushed bright pink. “Tanaka isn’t my boyfriend… yet, maybe,” she covered her mouth. “Oh please don’t tell him I said that!” 

“No promises Ellie,” he smirked. “I gotta make sure my sis is well taken care of you know. I’ll play matchmaker, see how you like it!” 

“Well,” Ella puffed, “I got you and Serena together so it’s not like I did a bad thing.” She grumbled as she blushed even more. 

 

Misako turned away, shutting the door the rest of the way. “So that all makes sense now why he’s so protective over Ella and why he doesn’t use his powers.” She mumbled to herself as she thought aloud. “Something always seemed off about them, but how sweet at the same time.” She peeked back out, just in time to see Ella about to come in with the mail. 

“Ooh! Mimi, sorry, I must have surprised you,” the younger girl laughed. “I brought the mail in.” She handed her a few envelopes. “This one I think is from your parents, these two look to be from either your brother or well, I don’t know, there’s obscure postage on it. Guess they must have gotten mixed up in the mail system! Anyways, I’m gonna go find Sayu and Wu and see if they wanna go swimming or something!” She skipped past her. 

Misako shook her head and plopped on the couch to see what was so important that her parents had to write to her about, deciding to forget what she heard. “Maybe I should tell my parents about the baby… it’s been years though since I’ve spoken with them. I wonder if they still disapprove of Garmadon and I.” She sighed as she read through the uneventful letter. 

 

*****

 

Oh how could a day turn south so fast? It was no longer sunny and warm while they talked about the silly troubles of life, thinking they were untouchable and powerful; now it was cold and raining, good news and life turned into sadness and death. 

Misako coughed on the smoke as Garmadon blocked her from the fiery blast that sent the old building up in flames. “What the hell was that? Since when did they have weapons that could blow buildings up!? They’re snakes!” Her green eyes widened as she felt the intense heat from the flames on her face. I guess it was a good thing it was raining, right?

“I think I have a pretty good idea,” Garmadon coughed as well, letting go of his girlfriend. “See this is why I don’t want you down here. If you got hit by debris or something, you could have miscarried or something!” 

“Worry about yourself, look at your arm!” Misako gasped when she saw how cut up it was. “Must have been the glass from the windows.” She pulled his arm to get a better look at it, shaking her head. “Looks like that’ll scar up nicely.” She sighed, ripping his already tattered robe sleeve off as it further got soaked with his blood. 

“Garmadon! You’re back?” Anthony came running through, skidding to a halt and almost slipping on the wet stone path. “Where’re the others? I can’t find anyone! Ella and I got separated in the chaos and I can’t find her anywhere! She just took off!” He looked exhausted and frantic, like he was holding in tears of fear. “I didn’t sign up for front line duty! We were supposed to be students, studying away from all of this!” He looked angry now. “I only ever even came here because of Ellie!” 

“What you signed up for was to essentially be reserve soldiers,” Misako stood back up straight. “You surely knew that the entire country would experience war first hand, did you not? Sina, Astor, Sakura, The North Islands, Ignacia Valley, now Jumonokai and Hikari? They’re on the doorstep of Ninjago City right now, if they get past us here, even more damage will be done and more lives will be lost; the Meridian Province past that is totally exposed and has no means of self defense!”

“I’m not a warrior though!” He shouted back at the older woman. Garmadon held one of the gashes on his arm, listening to the other two go back and forth. “All of you are, but not me, and certainly not Ella. I’m going to find her and we’re leaving this cursed place, I’m done trying to unlock my “powers” here.” He shoved past the couple, wiping his wet fringe from his eyes.

“Anthony if you take off and desert us, you WILL be court marshaled and punished by the elders,” Misako snapped, even if she knew why he wanted to get out of here so badly, it still didn’t make it right for him to take Ella and split in the middle of a fight. “Where the hell do you think you’re going to go? This war has infested every city, every province, island, and stronghold! You can’t run away from this even if you tried! Think about Iris and Serena and,” she hesitated, “and Ash.”

Anthony froze in his tracks, he knew he was exposed now, “Didn’t take you for a busybody Misako.”

“And I didn’t take you for a coward, yet here we are.” Though her shoulders eased up, the rest of her body was tense. Poor Garmadon didn’t know what was going on here and felt so out of the loop. “I’m having a baby. I’m fighting this war to make sure she can live in a world that is at peace. Don’t you wanna do the same for your son?”

Garmadon gripped her shoulder though, signaling that they should get out of there. He sighed and looked to the student as he started catching on. “More hands, less work. You have family that can’t fight and that needs protecting?” The other nodded, “Well, fight for them, like what Koko just told ya.”

The auburn haired ninja in training’s shoulders slouched, seeming to put his situation into perspective. “Fine, I’ll help stop this, but as soon as we stop this town from burning down, I’m taking Ella and we’re getting out of here-”

“Garmadon! Misako! Oh! And Anthony too!” Sayu’s voice rang out. “Oh thank the gods,” she looked like a mess, hair stringy and unkempt, with blood soaking up half her tunic, plowing into the other three, hugging them tightly. “Wu! WU!” she looked back, waving a hand. “Garmadon came back! We have help! They’re all safe!” 

The blond stopped a few feet away, eyes shifting away from them. “Brother.”

“Brother,” the older one nodded back. “Rosie’s here somewhere too, surely tracking down some of the cannons that they must have moved from Sakura.” He explained. 

“Cannons? The snakes?” Wu raised an eyebrow; the others looked concerned as well. “How did they manage that!?”

Garmadon nodded, “Yeah, that’s what they were doing in Sakura, it’s why the villagers were all hypnotized. They converted all the fireworks cannons into actual battle ones; then they were going to sink the town I think when they were done with them.”

“What!?” Sayu looked horrified. “Did you stop them!? Are the villagers okay!?”

“Is now really the time!?” Misako gripped her crossbow, “Let’s stop the threat here and then worry about the details.” She looked behind her. “I think they were coming from that way.” She started off first, the others quickly followed. 

Garmadon looked to Sayu as the hurried through the streets. “Everyone else is still over there, probably fighting to take back control of the town. I promise you Sayu, they’ll win; we promised Sakura wouldn’t sink.” She swallowed, nodding and accepting his assurance. They had won greater battles before, she should trust her friends. 

They came to find Rose had already started dismantling the source of the explosion. “You scum are disgusting creatures!” She screamed as she dug her spear through the neck of an Anacondrai that was beaten to the ground. “I won’t rest until all of you assholes are killed and skinned!” She heavily breathed. “Maybe I’ll make some Anacondrai leather boots and armor!” 

It was quite the bloody sight, the earth master finally let out her pent up rage from her father’s death months ago. The others counted at least ten bodies, which was a feat in itself considering how tough these purple scaled soldiers could be. 

“Remind me to never get on her bad side.” Wu swallowed. If there was now one thing that would keep him in line more, it was seeing this. “So is that it? Are there anymore here?” He started looking around, but the streets seemed empty of any live Serpentine. “Should we tell the civilians that it’s all clear?” 

The woman they had been staring at this whole time looked up when she realized she wasn’t alone anymore. Her eyes were wide, like she was almost ashamed for letting her anger get so out of hand. “I uh,” her voice was a little shaky, “I took out the rest of them. I saw Raven dealing with two others. She said she was going to go back down and help Neuro and the others. I think it’s safe to say we dealt with the problem.” 

“So is that it?” Anthony looked confused. “Didn’t seem like much of an attack if we dissolved it within two hours. Plus no casualties, like, when does that ever happen in a war?” He started smiling in relief.

Sayu and Wu looked at one another in a most awkward and painful silence. “Well, we wouldn’t say “no casualties” quite yet.” She squeaked, holding the hem of her bloodied tunic. 

Anthony felt a pit in his stomach when he looked at Sayu’s tunic as well, now realizing that wasn’t her own blood on it. 

 

*****

 

The Mountain of Impossible Heights, Hikari Village, May 1983

Anthony sat on the steps that led down the mountain. It had been four days since the Anacondrai tried to destroy the village… and took dear Ella down with them. He looked out over the sea of trees that surrounded the whole mountain range, and then back down at his drink. His face scrunched with frustration as he threw the cup of liquid over the side of the mountain, sitting back again, covering his face. 

“So, you lied about your parentage just to come here and mind Ella?” The young man jumped when he heard the sound of Masuta’s voice. “Misako told me. She claimed to overhear you the other day discussing it with her.”

“Pfft, well I knew you’d never let me stay here if I was just some normal guy.” Now he wished he didn’t throw his drink so frivolously. “Ella’s family was killed in Sakura Falls back when the six armed demons went on a pillaging spree. I had lived with my aunt and now girlfriend in a nearby village and so we took her in when we saw her running from the fight. She was my best friend, like a sister to me. Her family was a bunch of nature wizards that protected that town, like master Bolobo or that rogue guy, Cardinsto.”

Masuta was about to respond, but Anthony added onto his explanation. “Funny enough sir, I rather blame you for that incident. They were left to their own devices pretty recklessly, and it was said that you foresaw the attack and didn’t even send someone to help. You should have gone if you asked me.”

“Well, I wasn’t.” The old man calmly replied. “You remind me of Garmadon a little too much. Are you sure he hasn’t been spinning stories about me again?”

“No, a lot of people know your true nature. You let the town get attacked because Ella’s family weren’t strictly these loyal, blind followers to you, so you didn’t care if a whole clan of nature masters were wiped out.” He glared up at the master. “If you can’t control something, you don’t deem it as worthy of your time, so when Ellie wanted to become a true nature master, I knew I’d have to lie and come here to make sure she would have someone who WOULD help her if something happened.”

Masuta nodded as the younger man told his story, trying to ignore the accusations thrown at him. “I see, so you figured that she could become a master and would be able to finally defend herself on her own?”

He shook his head. “No sir, she begged me to take her here because she just wanted to carry on her family’s legacy more than anything. And now she can’t. Her whole bloodline is gone forever.”

“But why did you come here with her? If she stayed at the monastery, she would be well protected by the other students.” Masuta took a seat beside the other man now. “Surely you can’t expect her to grow if you babied her all her life. Perhaps you held her back?”

Anthony left out a short breath, trying to withhold a chuckle at the weak counter. “Excuse me master, but, I just wanted to make sure she would be safe while training. I knew that this area would be dangerous during war times, but I did have another reason of course…” He looked to the old man. “It was because of you that she’s died now too.” 

Masuta let out an amused scoff. “Another bold claim to make against me boy, don’t you think?”

“Sorry to say sir, but when you decide to spare the lives of monsters, they tend to disregard your “negotiations” and take land for themselves. You did nothing to protect them against such a threat back then, and you did nothing to prevent this Serpentine War now which led to the fight she died in.”

“Surely it’s foolish to go that far out of your way to blame me-”

“You know, perhaps Wu does have a point sir.” Anthony cut him off. “You don’t care about the children you take in. You don’t see any of us as students or your sons and daughters; no, you see us as tools to do your dirty work. You run and hide whenever a battle takes place and send your pawns out to cause the bloodshed and you let them get taken when you can’t control them anymore. Maybe you aren’t such a kind and wise guy as the legends made you out to be.” 

Anthony paused, lifting his head up more. “That was another reason I had to come and protect Ella.” He got up, walking back up the steps to get into the courtyard to assumedly grab his and Ella’s remaining things, and leave. 

“I will not throw you out just because you’re non-elemental you know. You can stay here as long as you wish.”

The young man smirked, shaking his head. “Sorry, but Ella deserves a proper burial, back home where she always belonged. And I gotta see my son.” The master raised an eyebrow. “Yes sir, almost a week ago, my girlfriend sent for me. She’s the one related to smoke masters actually, but was too frail and inexperienced to be a soldier for you. I can assure you though I won’t let my boy get anywhere near you to train.” He pushed the gates open, walking past the others. 

 

“Hard to believe it’s been only five days since she died,” Namiko sighed, watching Anthony slam the door behind him. “What a terrible shame.” She shook her head. “I feel so awful. I can’t even remember what the last thing I said to her was before we left.”

“How do you think I feel?” Sayu held a hand to her chest. “She died in my arms Nami.” The wind master looked like she was going to break down and cry again. Wu wrapped an arm around her shoulder to try and comfort her. For once, he showed remorse on his normally neutral face.

“Well, at least we freed her former home,” Kasai placed his hands on his hips, trying to see the positives, but the girls still were shaken up. “Still, how odd master was nowhere in sight while everyone busted their asses.”

“It seems to be quite the trend over the years if you haven’t noticed,” Namiko muttered. 

Garmadon was sitting on his bed, Misako checking his wounded arm. The door was open, so they saw their auburn haired friend march down the hall, past their room to get to his own to pack his things and finally leave. 

The couple looked at one another and Misako quickly rolled down her boyfriend’s sleeve, both getting up to check on him. “Anthony?” She called for him first. “Oh, so you are leaving.” She saw his bag. 

He nodded. “How can you two live here? How can any of you stand it?” He asked. 

“So you see it too,” Garmadon leaned against the doorframe. “People never believe you until they get too close.” He opened the door more. “I don’t blame you for leaving; by the way, congrats on the baby.”

“Thanks, you guys too,” He nodded back. “Take good care of each other… and leave as soon as you get the chance. I’d hate to see him force any other children into this terrible game of his.”

The two nodded, both giving him a hug. “Good luck out there. Keep in touch, please,” Misako requested, “you and Ella were amazing friends to me. I’ll never forget you both.” 

“Will do Mimi,” he smiled, accepting a hug from Garmadon next. “Please let me know as soon as she’s born, maybe her and my boy Ash will make good friends.” He gestured to stomach.

She nodded, chuckling, “Of course.” Misako held a hand to her abdomen, smiling at the thought. “You know, I have the perfect name for her now.” She paused. “Ella.” It made Anthony smile and nodded in agreement, eyes watery. “Well, we won’t keep you any longer.”

“Right,” the auburn former student sighed, slinging the bag over his shoulder. “Tanaka is meeting me in Hikari to get a ride back home by the way. He wants to be there for the funeral.”

Misako and Garmadon exchanged looks as he headed down the long hallway. “We’ll go with you too,” they offered. He looked back. “In fact, why don’t we all accompany you? I think she deserves to have all her family there.”

Anthony wiped his eyes, smiling more. “Thanks guys, I bet she’d like that a lot.”


	9. Chapter 8

Blossom Forest, July 1983

“Come on in Wu, the water is lovely today!” Namiko called out, floating on her back. 

“Yes well, knowing you, you’ll create a tidal wave that’ll throw me out of the water anyways.” Wu seemed incredibly cautious whenever Namiko would invite him into any decently sized bodies of water; Kasai’s pranking had definitely been rubbing off on her more and more. “I’m fine over here thank you very much.” He went back to reading his scroll.

“Careful now, you could have tripped!”

“Babe, I’m fine,” Misako pushed Garmadon’s face. “Oh my gosh, you don’t have to hold my hand every step of the way! We’re in a lake on a slippery slope up in the Wailing Alps!” She grew more irritated.

Kasai and Edna laughed as they watched the couple bicker. “Oh he’s just trying to help you girl!” Namiko shouted as she swam around more.

“I’m only five months pregnant, he needs to seriously chill!” Misako grumbled when Garmadon grabbed her from behind in a tight hug. “Please, it’s hot and humid and I just wanna go swimming,” she managed to get out of his arms and stick her feet in the water. “Aaah,” she walked more in, all the way up to her hips. “You joining me or what?”

“Yeah, yeah, be right there!” Garmadon pulled his shirt off and jumped in next. 

“Oh damn, you really got cut up during the fight in Hikari, huh?” Edna looked worried at the long, ugly scabs that streaked across the older man’s right arm. “Geez man, you’re gonna be twenty six next month and you look like you should be a seasoned war vet in his sixties.” 

Garmadon laughed, sinking into the cool water more. “Well, Eddie, at least my Koko likes it.”

“I do not! I hate it that you’re so scarred!” Misako splashed water in his face. 

“Fine,” he rolled his eyes, “But, I know for a fact all my fangirls like it at least, I overheard one say that it’s sexy, like I’m some kind of badass,” he snickered, “And I mean, are they really ever wrong?” 

Misako splashed water at his face. “It just proves to all of us you’re impulsive and have no sense of self preservation!” She folded her arms and pouted. “I’ll have to tell our daughter that her father died in such a terrible and stupid way!” 

“I would never let that happen,” he got up and grabbed at her again. “I can tell her all my stupid adventures myself thank you!” he held both his hands over the growing baby bump and laughed. “Right Ellie? I’ll teach you everything I know! You’re gonna be a great shadow master like me!” 

“What if she’s earth though? Like me?” Misako raised an eyebrow as she felt something move. “You feel that? Only five and half months and she’s packing a punch like an earth master already, I’m sorry Garm, you’re wrong about this one.”

Wu rolled his eyes as the others all laughed and joked, splashing water around, but his attention was turned when he saw Sayu walk by, clearly dressed like she was planning on swimming; a one piece green swimsuit with a straw sunhat over her dark hair and a lacy, white sash around her hips, elegant as always. 

She noticed he was sulking in the shade by himself and she laughed. “Aren’t you going in?”

“Meh, I hate swimming,” Wu looked away. “Especially with a water master around.”

Sayu walked back over, crouching beside him. “Oh come on,” she smiled before pecking his cheek. “Don’t you do anything but sulk and act like an emo?” She tilted her head. “What are you reading anyways?” She glanced at the scroll, intrigued. 

He shrugged, “Just stuff about magical creatures I was interested in. Uh, is Tana still at the monastery?” The blond noticed their ice master friend was nowhere to be seen. 

“He’s meditating last I saw him, still a bit torn up over Ellie I think.” Sayu sat on her knees beside him. “I mean, they might not have been dating or romantically involved, but he was still very fond of her and knew of her feelings. Like me, he wishes he could have done something about it all.” She looked down at her hands. “Give him time, he’ll be back to his quirky self.”

“Whatever-”

She kissed his cheek again suddenlt. “You’re blushing Wu.”

“I AM NOT!” 

Sayu giggled more as he denied it and she took his hand. “Come on; put the scroll down for a bit.” She pulled him to his feet and started leading him away from the others when she noticed they weren’t paying them any attention. 

 

*****

 

As the five entered the monastery once more, almost dry from swimming, they were met by Masuta. “I see you four have been enjoying yourselves,” clearly in a passive aggressive mood tonight. “Where is Wu and Sayu? I thought they were with you at the lake.” He noticed the group was lacking members.

“They changed and went into town for a lil bit I think,” Misako pulled her damp hair off her shoulders. “It’s nice to have the snakes taking so long to regroup. Maybe we finally scared them off!” She chuckled at the wonderful thought. They had gone almost a month with little to no reports of attacks, since they always retreated underground, they never knew where exactly they could show up next, it was painstakingly annoying to say the least. 

“That’s what I wanted to talk about with you all,” the older man folded his arms. “Tanaka was just dispatched a few hours ago to help Rose in downtown Ninjago City. She suspects they’re burrowing under the city and will infiltrate through the subways based on intel from the sound masters.”

That was a scary thought for sure. It would make sense as to why there was such a lull in the fighting though. 

“Well, that doesn’t require me, so I’m gonna go take a bath and have some tea,” Misako left, though she was secretly worried that her cousin was right about her burrowing tunnels theory.

The other three younger ninja left for the training room next, “Yeah, we better get our gear together too if we’re gonna be making our way over there tonight.” 

Garmadon started towards his room next with the others. “Guess I’ll get suited up to head out too-”

“Kasai, Edna, and Namiko will be heading out tonight; you can leave to join them in the morning.” Masuta cut his oldest son off. Garmadon looked surprised as he stopped in his tracks; did his father just consider his feelings and allow him to be with his girlfriend and child instead of making him head out right away? 

“What?” He blinked. 

“When I was in your position, I, well, didn’t want to leave your mother either when I had to take care of things.” He admitted. “We have more than enough of our people downtown for tonight to set up our ambush.”

The brunette was still shocked. “I, well, thank you father.” He didn’t know what else to say so he just went to find his girlfriend, smiling just a little bit. He did secretly wondered what led to the sudden change in attitude though.

 

When the light peaked through the blinds, Garmadon whined just a bit internally at the thought of having to get up and leave soon. Misako was comfortably placed ever so perfectly in his embrace as they lay together. She still sounded fast asleep though, but he didn’t wanna leave without saying goodbye. 

He pushed himself up with one arm he pulled from under her. “Koko,” he whispered, softly kissing her cheek. “Koko, I gotta go now.” Garmadon smiled when she looked up at him. “Morning.” He chuckled.

“Morning,” she wiped her eye, rolling onto her back. “She sleeps better when you’re around; are you sure you have to get up?” She rubbed her tummy, looking to be in discomfort. “See? She’s already upset you’re leaving.”

“A daddy’s girl already I see.” He nuzzled the side of Misako’s face, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “I think I’m finally starting to worry I might not come back from this you know.” He chuckled. “I mean, I won’t have you to watch my back.”

“Rose and Namiko will do that for me I’m sure.” She smiled, trying to ease his mind. “They’d never let you die on me.”

“Oh, do you think Edna and the others won’t?” He wondered why she was left out. 

His girlfriend poked his nose. “No, Edna will blow your ass to kingdom come if you throw yourself in harm’s way unnecessarily and Kasai is too incompetent. Tanaka would just yell at you for not listening to him.” He swatted her hand away, making her laugh. “Just go and get it over with. Sooner you leave, sooner you can come back and tell me all about it.” 

It was rare they could have a quiet morning like this, with living with so many other people, it was always noisy. He forced himself to get up anyways and get his robes on, grabbing his sheathed katana from against the wall by the dresser. “Make sure you have the news channel on, maybe you’ll see me.” He joked, slinging the weapon over left arm as he smirked. 

“As long as you aren’t on the “confirmed dead” list.” She pulled the blanket over her more and she closed her eyes, ready to fall back to sleep because she was so tired. 

“No promises,” he grinned wider.

“Go to the Underworld.” She mumbled back, chuckling as well.

 

*****

 

Ninjago City was always a beautiful sight, nothing but tall buildings for miles and miles that looked amazing when lit at night, tightly knit suburban homes on the eastern side where there was a giant manmade lake that ran out by a river into the ocean that wasn’t too far off in the distance; it was just the greatest city in the country. 

Garmadon had only been there a handful of times, primarily as an older teenager when he and Misako would sneak away from the monastery to go on the occasional, proper date. They always talked about getting a little house downtown somewhere when the baby would be born. It felt good to be back, though it was sadly under the circumstance of possibly more war. 

Tanaka was the one who was waiting for the shadow ninja by the subway entrance. He waved and smiled a bit. “Good, you made it.” He gestured to follow him down the stairs. “It’s pretty much confirmed now. We spent most of the night laying down mines with Edna. Thankfully there were patches of tunnels that ran under empty lots so we won’t bring down any buildings if they go off… hopefully.”

“Come on, when has Edna ever failed… okay you know what, maybe you’re right.”

They continued walking down the steps. “I’m sorry if I haven’t been as social by the way and left yesterday without stopping by. I’m just distracted more than usual and this just gave me something to focus on.” The lavender clothes one looked back at the brunette. 

The other nodded, “It’s alright; it’s been hard for all of us to realize that just because we’re elemental masters, doesn’t make us invincible.” 

“I suppose you’re right. No sense on dwelling on the past any longer that we should.”

Garmadon stared off as he walked further down the darkened underground. For some reason he just had a feeling today was going to suck as they both heard an explosion go off and the floor rumbled under them. He wished he had stayed in bed at least another hour.

 

*****

 

Misako was finally awake as she was brewing a pot of tea. It was pretty late, almost noon actually. Was she worried about the others? Of course, but it was no use getting worked up, they’ve survived worse, but then again, she was there to help. Checking the clock, she decided the tea leaves steeped long enough and poured two cups. Setting the teapot down, she picked one of the cups up and brought it into the study. 

“Master, I made a pot of green tea, I thought you’d like some,” she smiled, setting the cup down on the desk for him. 

“Hmm? Thank you Misako,” he noticed her presence, seeing the blue porcelain cup. She was about to leave when he stopped her. “Misako?”

She looked back over at him. “Yes?”

He hesitated, but shook his head, turning back to the scroll he was reading. “Nothing, um, if you’re up to it, you should probably check the shopping list and go into town. Wu and Sayu are busy running a different errand for me so they can’t. Plus it’ll take your mind off of things. Just take your time.”

A little concerned, she glanced back before shutting the door. “O-kay, I’ll head out in a little bit then.” When she headed back into the kitchen, Misako sipped her tea, walking into the living room to sit down, turning the TV on. She was met with “breaking news” with a plume of smoke coming out of the subway entrance right where the others were supposed to be. She turned the volume up. 

“As you can see, the shockwave that spanned nearly the whole of downtown came from the west side subway station.” The brunette reporter gestured to the commotion behind her. “Is this it? Is Ninjago City finally, officially, a part of the war zone?”

She almost choked on her drink, “That didn’t take long to have the explosions start!!” She moved closer to the screen, watching for any signs of the others, starting to feel sick to her stomach, and it wasn’t because of the morning sickness.

Shortly after, she saw Rose running off screen with Garmadon carrying Kasai and Edna out of the subway. She nearly collapsed from relief. “They’re fine, they got this…” she kept telling herself. “I can’t worry about them, there’s nothing I can do now for them anyways.” She looked away, though turned back when she heard her boyfriend’s voice picked up on the broadcast. 

“Here we have some of the elemental masters investigating the subways now! So far no snakes to be seen thank the great Spinjitsu Master himself! For now we’ll head to the helicopter camera so we can get a safe distance away! This is Gabby Gossip signing- hey!”

The reporter woman looked startled as Garmadon came over to the camera, still carrying Kasai on his shoulder. Though she tried to get some kind of statement from him, he just ignored her. “Honey if you’re watching this, I’m still alive! Told you!” Okay, that induced a chuckle from her, though she still was worried for the situation. 

“Shoo! Go do your jobs!” the woman swatted Garmadon and the others away. 

Instead of continuing to watch the terrible news, she shut the TV off again and went to get dressed to go into town like Masuta requested before. She grabbed a pad and started going down the list for shopping, checking the fridge. Misako however, couldn’t shake the odd feeling she got when he had asked her to do the said shopping. “Whatever, it’s not like I didn’t need to get anything anyways.” Her feet already hurt at the thought of going all the way down to the village.

 

*****

 

Back in the city, Kasai had come to, head still spinning from getting caught in the blast and inhaling so much smoke. Namiko threw a tonfa at his head though and stomped over. “You idiot!! You could have ruined the whole plan! Edna said that fire powers could trigger the mines and you had to blast those snakes as soon as you saw their shadows coming through!! You ruined everything! And- and,” her eyes were watering. “You could have died!!”

“Calm down, we still have to make sure they don’t get any farther than the subways! There’s only a couple other way to get out besides this entrance and I’m sure team two will have their hands full with that,” Rose nearly smacked Namiko back to reality. “Edna’s down for the count so we can’t plant any more mines without her until she recovers.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll watch over her until we can make our way to the ER a few blocks from here,” she had her hands covered in water that started to glow white. “I’ll heal some of those immediate cuts she got while I’m at it. Go on and do your thing.”

“Don’t need to tell us twice,” Tanaka pulled out three throwing stars from his belt. “See you soon.” He started off with Garmadon, Kasai, and Rose. “Okay, Kasai and Garmadon, once I make an ice wall, you use your fire to create more steam to help mask us. Rose, you can bend the rock to squash the snakes into the ceiling. Everyone got it?”

“Don’t you think it’s a little predictable for us?” Kasai rolled his eyes. 

“You act like these aren’t some stupid grunts. We’ll be fine!” Rose rolled her eyes and started off. 

 

*****

 

Misako pulled out her list from her small purse as she walked down the street, glancing up when she saw Sayu waving at her. “Oh hey, Masuta said you guys were also in town. What was his stupid errand for you?” 

“What errand? We just wanted to get out of training today and headed out early.” Wu snarked back, but noticed how tired she looked. “Dad made you walk all the way? Is he insane?” He pulled her by the arm to sit her down. “What was he thinking?”

“I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine, it’s not a big deal.” Misako rolled her eyes and sat back. “Walking is supposed to be good or something.”

“Well, let us help you,” Sayu plucked the list from her friend’s hand, reading it over. “Did he expect you to carry all of this back while you were at it? Up all those steps?” She shook her head. “Come on! Team work time!” She tore the list up into three parts. “We can get this done in no time! We’ll meet back here in a half an hour!”

She practically skipped off leaving Misako and Wu still sitting on the bench. “So why did your dad lie exactly?” The conversation was back on Masuta. 

“He wants to pretend like he’s controlling me so the other masters don’t get all antsy and so that Sayu’s family doesn’t get worried that I’m corrupting her or something” Wu shrugged, getting back up. “Come on.”

“So, um… how are things with Sayu going anyways? You seem to be spending a lot of time together lately, and you disappeared while we were swimming yesterday.” Misako stopped, smirking when Wu looked away. “So you two are a thing now or what?”

Wu blushed when she brought it up. “Please, she’s alright,” he looked back down at his part of the list. “Well, I have to go get watermelon, so I have to go this way-”

“Oh I have to get rice, it’s that way too,” Misako followed, knowing he was avoiding the question. “So does this mean you’re finally over me and I can live my life in peace and marry Garmadon?” She sounded quite passive aggressive. Wu glanced back at her steely gaze. 

Wu’s nose scrunched up. “What do I care what you do?”

“After how many years of feeling entitled to me?” She raised an eyebrow. Was Wu really playing this off like he was never an asshole? “Listen, Sayu has made you a far more tolerable and better person, but you haven’t apologized once for making me guilty for all kinds of things! Not liking you back… letting your brother knock me up?” She pulled his arm, turning him to face her. 

“You could have still given me a chance too you know.” He clenched his teeth as he red eyes narrowed. 

She sighed. “Wu, honestly, could you really see any kind of a future with us being together? I’m nothing like Sayu, I wouldn’t bring out the good traits in you, I wouldn’t be happy, we’d just argue all the time; stop denying she makes you happier than I ever could. You don’t think I’d want you to be happy!?”

Wu’s harsh expression soften up, shoulders slouching when she said that. He knew she was right, he knew that at this point he could never ever have Misako. Why further get on her bad side? Wouldn’t it be better to not make an ass of himself so she could still be in his life in some way?

“Maybe you’re ri-?” Wu started, but she cleared her throat. “Okay, you ARE right,” he nodded. “You just, were the best in… every way possible. I really wish I didn’t love you so much.”

“Wu, maybe if things were different from the start we could have been a thing, but it’s not. We wouldn’t make each other truly happy. Infatuation isn’t love.” 

Wu looked down, “It’s this isn’t it?” He pointed to his eyes. 

“No, it’s not; I don’t like people who try too hard is all,” She sighed, gesturing her head towards their destination. “Come on, I’m willing to let the past be the past if you are.” 

The younger man gave a half smile, shoving his hands in his pockets and followed her, accepting the offer to move on. “The next kid you gotta name after me though.” He joked, happy to hear he made her laugh finally. 

 

*****

 

“All Constricti, thank the gods there are no Anacondrai in sight,” Rose said as she flung three more snakes into the wall with a flat slab of stone. “How’s everyone doing!? Call out!”

“There’s a shit ton of these things!” Kasai sounded frustrated. “Can anyone tell if there’re anymore coming!?”

“It’s finally tapering off; second team might have gotten the rest of them!” Garmadon came from his shadowy corner, stabbing a snake grunt with his katana before igniting it with dark flames. “I just love how this day is going so far!” 

“You’re telling me!” Rose scoffed. “I even had a date tonight! Now I’ll have to call and cancel, AGAIN!” She pulled her spear out to start stabbing.

“You? A date!? Didn’t the last girl you date fall into a fountain because you “accidentally” pushed her too hard trying to be all funny and “aloof”?” Kasai laughed, though squealed when a kunai was thrown too close to his head, thankfully it hit a snake in the eye instead. 

“She tripped all on her own, and I was supposed to go to a play tonight! He likes musicals and shit, it’s really cute, okay!?” She ducked when one of the snakes swung his heavy tail at her head. “And he’s the first guy to not be immediately intimidated by me and assume I’m only into chicks for some reason! He’s an actual gentlemen! Unlike some of the men on this team!” She glared at Kasai.

“Can we just focus guys!?” Tanaka shot ice out, freezing more grunts into a wall of ice. “You can gossip later about your love lives!”

“Oooh, Tanaka’s jealous he doesn’t have a date like the rest of us!” Kasai cackled, but this time got knocked in the head by a snake’s staff.

Tanaka suppressed a laughed when he saw that happen. “We’re almost done here; please go check on Namiko and Edna, Kas.” He ran over to help his friend up, smacking the snake away with his own bo staff.

The fire ninja grumbled, rolling his eyes as he back out of the fight to go see the girls upstairs like he was ordered. “I like it better when Misako is the leader.” He said under his breath. “She’d let me make an inferno by now.”

 

*****

 

Misako slid the door open, sighing to herself as she put her bag on the kitchen counter with Sayu and Wu close behind. She plopped back down on the couch right away, taking her sandals off, rubbing her ankles. 

“Ugh, I still can’t believe he told you to come all the way down to town by yourself.” Sayu shook her head. 

“It’s fine; thanks so much again for the help.” Misako crossed her legs on the coffee table, rubbing her stomach. “I’ll start dinner in about an hour.”

“Okay, we’ll be in the back for a bit, let us know if you need any more help,” Wu told her. “Take it easy.”

Not long after they went down the hall, she felt something was off, like the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She scrambled to find a knife or some kind of weapon that was left lying around, not wanting to make a sound. Carefully stepping, the earth ninja made her way to the study, opening the door quickly. 

“Oh your back, I take it Sayu and Wu came back with you, I heard them talking just now.” Masuta looked a bit startled. “What’s with the knife?” He raised an eyebrow. 

Misako lowered it a little. “Someone’s in here besides us.” She quietly said, still tensed up. She noticed he suddenly looked behind her, eyes widened. Before she could look for herself, someone grabbed her wrist, making her drop her knife. 

“Look what I have here, the great Master of Spinjitsu… and one of his stupid lil followers,” The voice sounded familiar. 

“Sigan,” Misako gasped when he pulled her back, slamming against the wall, holding her throat. She raised both hands, trying to pry his hand off her as she choked on air. When he finally released her, she slid to the floor, able to breathe again. “Wu! Sayu!” she choked out. 

The time ninja looked back to Masuta, pulling a long dagger like weapon out that looked like a clock handle. “I come on behalf of General Arcturus.” 

Masuta stood up, “I didn’t realize you were working with the snakes.” He looked at Misako who was on her knees, trying to get back up on her feet. 

“What’s going on!?” The other two ran back out, skidding to a halt when seeing the intruder.

“Eh, they pay well enough. Not to mention this one’s a bit personal.” The younger, villainous ninja shrugged, holding the dagger up to Masuta’s chest level. “I know you’re losing your touch old man; that’s why you haven’t been seen in a single fight in the past few years.” He smirked under his mask. “You get these brats to do your dirty work.”

The graying man scoffed, throwing his outer robe off and picking his staff up. “I think you will find the rumor is very incorrect Sigan; I am more than capable of removing leeches like you, myself.” One of his hands started glowing black.

The younger man glared, appearing behind the old master, jabbing him in the side with his own blade. 

“Master!” Misako shrieked as Wu lunged forward, Sigan turning to kick him in the chest. 

Masuta grabbed Sigan with the black glowing hand while he was distracted by his younger son. It deteriorated the sleeve of his tunic and seemed to burn his skin. The attacker pulled his arm back in pain and jumping back to the doorway. Seizing his way out, he grabbed Misako, using her to shield himself.

“Ah ah ah,” Sigan smirked, glancing at the others. “Don’t wanna hurt her, do we?” He looked down at his captive as he backed out more and more. 

Masuta held his staff out, though his side hurt as it bled out more, his tunic soaking it up. Sayu was helping Wu up. “Let her go demon, she has nothing to do with anything.” He tried to bargain. “Go run back to your new masters.”

Sigan laughed, “What a lie, I know she’s the best leader you have in this war, but it doesn’t matter, you see, my special lil dagger here injected you with a toxin I picked up from Arcturus. Apparently it affects everyone differently,” He looked at the clock handle again. Misako was just shaking. “You’ve heard of it, Devourer Venom I think it’s called?” He smiled, looking back to Wu who glared at him.

“I think I’ll be just fine,” Masuta replied, slumped against the wall, clearly not fine. 

“Let her go!” Wu shouted angrily. He was stuck though, Sigan had hurt him and his brother in the past as children; surely he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt Misako if they provoked him.

Misako’s thoughts were going a million miles a minute as she was thinking about what she could do to help herself. Normally she’d throw him over her shoulder, but she was just so tired from walking around and didn’t want to strain herself too much.

“Regardless, I can’t really stick around to see how you’ll go- OW!” Misako managed to elbow the time ninja in the sternum, trying to get away. “You bitch!” He used his burned hand to grab the back of her head, growling more in anger. Sayu went to grab her hand, but she was pulled back too quickly.

The front door was slid open as he hurried to leave, still holding onto Misako for assurance. He dragged her out with him, throwing her down the stairs. It was done with just enough force that she bounced twice. 

“AAAAAH!” She screamed in pain as she hit the pavement. 

“Until we meet again, if there is a next time for you, Masuta.” Sigan laughed, disappearing in a cloud of the smoke, knowing they would want to attend to the poor earth ninja he hurt. 

When he was clearly gone, Wu rushed to Misako’s side first. She curled up, screaming and writhing in pain, holding her stomach and gasping for air before she coughed blood, she was horrified when she saw it which led her to panic even more. Despite the wound in Masuta’s side, he managed to make his way over to pick her up. 

“Come on, let’s worry about her first,” he looked back to the younger ninja who nodded and ran to open the gate.

“But the venom-” Sayu was cut off, looking at the side.

“’Yu,” Wu gripped her shoulder. “Really? She just spit up blood!”

“You’re right,” she swallowed, noticing the intense concern in his eyes. She thought back to Ella and shuddered at the memory that flashed through her mind. It wasn’t that long ago, she didn’t want another friend to die so soon so she hurried after the two men. “What about Garmadon? Shouldn’t we try to find him?”

“He’s not far away from the hospital, I have no doubt he’ll find his way to us,” Masuta sounded oddly calm.


	10. Chapter 9

Garmadon sat on the curb with the others, their faces covered with dirt and soot, some blood on them from both themselves and their enemies, but they were all alive at the very least, kind of even chuckling about how filthy they all looked. The subways would be out for probably a long time for sure, but at least everything would be fine for now. 

“Guess we should get Edna to a doctor. She looks even more messed up than usual.” He looked over at the younger woman attempting to get up by herself. 

“I’m fine guys! Really!” The younger girl clearly looked dizzy still as she sat back down on her knees; holding a hand to her mouth, feeling like she had to puke.

Namiko frowned. “I’m willing to bet she has a concussion based on the nausea. Rose? Wanna carry her for me? I don’t want her falling down.” The taller woman nodded, picking her up fireman style. “Hospital is a block down from here. Let’s get you looked at honey.” 

After they finally got inside, walking to one of the rooms in the crowded ER, a nurse stopped them when noticing their dirty ninja robes and weapons. “Oh, some more elemental masters; is one of you Garmadon by any chance?” She had a phone in one hand and a slip of paper in another.

“Uh, that’s me, why?” Garmadon blinked, wondering what this would be about. He rubbed some of the dirt off his face. “I mean, I guess I have time for an autograph,” he joked, but noticed the nurse was clearly not in a joking feeling, maybe even intimidated by him.

“I have a message from your father, um, he said you would come by eventually and that I should give you this, um, here you go,” she handed him the slip of paper. “It’s on the second floor; he came in with several others, it looked like an serious emergency.”

The ninja looked back at the others who went on without him to take care of Edna, so he took the room number and headed to the elevators alone. As he punched in to go to the second floor, he wondered if something happened to one of the other masters or maybe his brother and Sayu… or…

He felt his blood run cold when he thought of Misako, she would be the most vulnerable out of them all. He bolted as soon as the elevator doors opened again. He couldn’t remember the last time he ran so fast, almost sliding past his destination, thankfully there weren’t any other people up and about in that particular hallway or else they would surely get run over by the manic ninja. “Dad?!” He shouted. 

“Garmadon? Over here!” Wu looked okay, he clearly wasn’t the one harmed, which led him to panic a little more. “Dad, he’s here.” He pulled the older sibling along down the right hall, he looked pretty shaken up himself. “I gotta go find Sayu, I’ll be right back,” he reluctantly let go of his brother’s arm. “I… I’m really sorry.” That just further confirmed his worry.

“There you are.” Masuta looked out the door, stepping out, leaving it cracked. “I’m glad you found your way here, what timing-”

“What happened?!” He noticed the blood on his robe and the look of hesitance to answer the question on his father’s face. “Dad?! What happened?!”

“It’s not me, I’ll be fine.” He shook his head and showed the bandage on him. “Though, I really doubt that you would have such concern if it was me.” He made the ever so “subtle” jab. “It happened almost three hours ago while you were out in the fight,” He looked solemn, oddly hugging the older son before letting him go inside. “She woke up not that ago though.”

He saw his girlfriend in the bed, shaking and obviously crying. “Misako?” he pulled off his gloves quickly and held a hand to her face. She looked horrified as she held the hand tightly. “Koko, what’s,” he swallowed, “what happened?”

“The baby…” she couldn’t seem to say much. She reached a hand out to touch his face and he down sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry.” She cried more. 

He noticed her clothes in the corner of the room that would surely get trashed being there was blood on them. “Koko,” he held her close. “Oh Koko,” he started shaking more as held on tighter, squeezing his eyes shut. “Shhhh, i-it’s okay, I’m here,” now he could barely talk now, feeling his eyes sting as he tried not to cry in front of her.

“This mysterious General Arcturus sent an assassin for me while you were all out fighting his little distraction in the city. You remember Sigan, right?” Masuta stood across from the tearful couple, explaining, clearly he didn’t care that they might have needed some space. 

“The time ninja,” his son mumbled, remembering the several run-ins they’ve had in the past with the demented, rogue ninja. “I thought he was dead.” His body involuntarily squeezed his girlfriend tighter.

“You know he wouldn’t go down so easily and that he’d survive. It was just the wrong place wrong time; he used her as a hostage and when she fought back, he threw her down the stairs. She’s been like this ever since. I can’t imagine the torment she’s in.”

Garmadon felt even sicker knowing she was attacked, and without him there to help protect her. “Misako, is that true?” He looked down at her. 

“Yes,” she pulled herself closer to him, sitting up. “They said she might have lived if I was farther along, but…” she cried into his filthy robe breaking down again.

He nodded, it still didn’t feel real. Just this morning it was all fine and perfect, they were a family. He wished he stayed. He actually wished he just ran off with her and never looked back, how could he not blame himself?

“I’ll leave you two alone. The doctor will be back soon,” Masuta sighed, closing the door behind him. 

She sniffed, wiping her eyes. “It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t have fought back and pissed him off. Sayu and Wu were too afraid to make any moves and I-I just wanted to get away.”

“You know he would have thrown you down those stairs either way if you went along.” His voice cracked, he stroked the back of her head, resting his chin on the top. “He has no regard for life, that’s not your fault.” Gamadon swallowed hard.

“But if I just took my time and stayed out of the house like your father said to in town, I wouldn’t have been there in the first place!” 

“Hold on, what!?” Garmadon pulled back, brushing her fringe from her face. “What are you talking about? What did dad tell you?” He looked back to the doorway where Masuta had left. “Don’t tell me he knew this was going to happen.”

“He was- he was acting all w-weird today and insisted I get out of the house,” she swallowed hard. “If I just did that then I wouldn’t have been home to have this happen.” 

Her boyfriend looked pissed off now, teeth clenched as he hugged her again. “Don’t blame yourself Koko.” He tried to detangle her disheveled hair. “Oh please don’t. You’re gonna kill me if you keep blaming yourself over something that dumb.”

“You don’t hate me?” She croaked.

“No, of course I don’t, that’s a stupid question.” He rested his cheek on her head. “I don’t think I could ever hate you. I should have just overslept and stayed home.”

“But you saved a lot of people today, they could have died if you didn’t show up to help; you can’t get in trouble over me all the time.” Misako closed her eyes again, wiping her eyes again. “I’m supposed be able to take care of myself! I promised you I’d be fine while you would go out on missions! You loved her so much, you wanted her so much. Please yell at me or— something!” She pulled away, gripping his tunic folds, trembling more. 

He lowered his head, refusing to raise his voice back at her. “I know, I was excited for Ella, to be a family with you, b-but, there’s always next time, right? We’re still young,” he gave a sad chuckle, trying to not add to her grief. “We’ll try again. We’ll win this war and do what we want to do. We’ll have all the kids you want. I won’t have to run off fighting battles and monsters; I would always be right next to you, we could do whatever we want.” He wiped his eyes as he started crying now. “I’m just glad you’re at least okay. It’s not your fault though honey.” 

“Oh she’s awake,” Sayu shamelessly interrupted, hurrying to hug her friend. Her cheeks were splotched with red as she had been crying as well. “I’m so sorry, I knew she’d wake up, but I just,” she tried to compose herself again. “I was so worried.”

“It’s fine Sayu,” Garmadon smiled a bit for a moment. “Wu, you can come in too, I know you’re out there,” he sighed as the door opened again. 

“I didn’t want to disturb you during a terrible moment.” He looked over to Sayu who blushed out of embarrassment. “I think it’s very unnecessary to ask how you’re doing.” He glanced at Misako. “But I am also glad you’re awake now.”

Misako sat back against the pillows, still holding Garmadon’s hand tightly. “Yeah,” she sniffed. “Like shit,” she closed her eyes, raising a hand to cover her face. “I wish we can just restart this whole day.”

“Can’t say I don’t know that feeling,” Wu sat down at the foot of the bed, looking at the bite scars on his left hand. “So what are we going to do now?” The others looked over to him. “I overheard father talking to the council, the snakes are employing outside help to pick off elemental masters. We’re going to be stuck fighting this damn war for decades to come I bet until we’re all gone. It might very well end with the normal humans being their slaves while we get executed.”

The four young adults sat in silence; if Wu really was right about that alleged intelligence, then they would never have any peace, their lives would be wasted fighting an endless, losing battle for the upper hand. It suddenly started to feel like they wouldn’t be happy for a long time, it sucked. 

Garmadon looked back to Misako who was just holding his hand, crying still. He looked down, sighing; something had to be done about this whole, terrible situation.

 

*****

 

Two days later and Misako was brought home, still weak and able to do anything but lie in bed and cry over everything. When she wasn’t crying, she was asleep, and when she wasn’t asleep, she was crying, rinse and repeat. Namiko was constantly on her case about eating. The others tried their best to support her, but there was nothing they could do to lighten her mood and Garmadon just sulked about it in usual fashion.

Garmadon sighed as he pulled the blanket over her after finally getting her to sleep again, shutting the door behind him, but the house was dead quiet anyways. He found his father in the small training room where the golden weapons still sat on their dusty, old racks. He slid the door shut behind him when he entered. “You knew all of this was going to happen.”

His father didn’t even look at him. “You shouldn’t speak of things you don’t know of son.” Was that his best response?! It made the younger man’s blood boil.

“Misako told me you wanted her to go to the village and to take her time. Wu said that you knew the Serpentine have been employing outside assassins to pick off our own to win the war quicker. You did nothing to prevent any of this,” Garmadon’s hands balled into fists. “You do nothing but sit around and order us to do petty work, as usual, you coward.”

“Watch your mouth.” Masuta turned to glare down at his son. Garmadon held his own glare though, fire in his dark eyes. “I suppose I was right in considering you for the Sword of Fire, untamable and destructive.” His son sneered at the remark. “You and your brother are nosy, disrespectful brats to me, even after everything I have done for all of you. Maybe this was the universe’s way of repaying you for your disobedience.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit!” Garmadon slammed his arm against the wall, everything rattled on the impact, including the golden weapons. “How would you have liked it something had happened to mother while she was pregnant with either of us!? Huh!? Would you have said the same thing!? That “this all happens for a reason”?! What about the other masters that have died because of this war? Do their lives mean anything!?”

After the long silence, the brunette seemed to have a morbid realization. “You wouldn’t have cared, would you? You don’t care about me; you couldn’t give less of a shit about Wu at this point. You don’t think we’re worthy enough to be your sons. You think everyone else is beneath you! The masters that serve you are worthless pawns to some greater end! Those masters that would follow you to the ends of the earth—”

“You’re making assumptions now—”

Garmadon went on though, not caring. “You raised all of us, claiming that we all were like your children to the other masters. You only picked the ones with absent parents or who aren’t strong enough to fight you back. We’re all just your tools so you won’t have to feel guilty about carrying out judgment. You could easily wipe out the entire Serpentine army with a snap of your fingers, but you make us work so damn hard for a future that keeps looking bleaker and bleaker!” He took a step closer. “I can’t ever imagine what mom saw in you when you met her! She would hate you if she saw you now!”

“Silence you incompetent, foolish boy.” Masuta commanded harshly. “You have been spared the terrible curse that befell your brother, yet you still have a demon inside of you. Have you ever considered that you are just blindly rebelling? Maybe you blame me for the death of your mother? Whatever your motive, you are acting like a spoiled child.”

“You let my baby girl die before she even had a chance! You seemed to hate the idea of her from the very beginning!” Garmadon shouted. “You caused my girlfriend endless pain, all because you like to keep secrets and toy with the human beings you’re supposed to protect! If you really are god, you are certainly one of evil!”

His father moved fast, gripping the collar of his shirt, glaring down at him as he was pressed against the wall. “If you think I’m so evil, then you clearly know nothing about this world my dear son.”

“I’ve been forced to fight enough villains to recognize one,” Garmadon shoved Masuta back and stormed out. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you lied to the entirety of Ninjago and are some kind of demon yourself. Maybe Wu got caught up in some awful shit that was really meant for YOU.”

The brunette slammed the door behind him; letting his eyes finally release tears he didn’t even realize were building up. For the past two days, he held it all back, Misako did enough crying for the both of them anyways; he just wanted to be strong for her. 

When he finally looked to his left, he saw Wu was standing in the hallway looking hesitant to approach him. The older wiped his dark brown eyes. “You… how much-?”

“All of it.” Wu quietly answered before the question could be completed. “Every last word.” The blond, out of nowhere, moved forward and hugged his older brother. “You were right though. Don’t let him make you feel bad for saying it. You’re braver than even me. I couldn’t stand up to him ever. I know he only gives me a chance because he thinks I don’t know how he really feels about me.”

Garmadon accepted the hug. “He’s miserable so we have to miserable too. Bet he hates that you’re dating the youngest daughter of one if his best friends too.”

“I’m sorry about everything.” Wu apologized. “I’m sorry I’m an asshole, I’m sorry I’m mean and selfish and terrible all the time. I’m sorry it took me so damn long to not be such a jerk.”

“I’m all of those things too you know. I was the one that encouraged you to get that katana on your own after all.” Garmadon smiled at the sad truth, no one could truly deny they were brothers. “Can you imagine how I’d be if I was the one that got bit?” He withheld a chuckle. “I bet I’d be even worse than you.”

Wu sighed. “Yes well, what’s done is done. At least you don’t drive others away by merely looking at them. People like being around you a lot more than me.” He wiped his eyes when they let go of each other. “So, uh, how’s Mimi?”

“I don’t even know. She hasn’t gotten out of bed in almost two days. She’s definitely more devastated than even I am, still blaming herself.” He started walking back to their room, sniffling, trying to hide the fact he was crying. 

“I uh,” Wu started, but stop himself. “Never mind; you should probably go check on her,” he shoved his hands in his pockets and headed into his own room. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Garmadon looked back to the door, sliding it open to see his girlfriend was sitting up, staring at the wall across from her. “Hey,” he swallowed, sitting next to her, holding her hand, glad to feel her hand hold his back. “You uh, heard the argument too, huh? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” 

“I wish you were wrong and he didn’t raise us to be his soldiers.” Misako looked down. “Kind of sick he’d go through any length to keep us from being so happy.” Her free hand balled up. “He got stabbed with a venom infused knife you know.” Garmadon scoffed when he heard that. “It probably shortened his life a great deal more.”

“It’s what he deserves if you ask me.” Garmadon shook his head. “A life for a life.” He scratched the back of his head during the lull in conversation. “So I’m taking time off, we’re gonna get away for a few weeks.” He rested his head on hers.

Her hand squeezed his, not taking him seriously. “The only thing I want is to find Sigan and tear him limb from limb, I don’t want or need a vacation,” she shakily said. 

“No, you’re not going anywhere to find him, we’re going to the Dragon Isles, it’s the only place untouched by any of this; we’re getting away from this war. I already cleared it with the high council… who got my father to agree to it.”

“And how did they all agree to that?” She looked up at him. “Why would they let you, a master of shadow and destruction, go on leave when you’re not even injured? Let alone, why would your own father, who disrespects the hell out of you, let you go?”

He looked away, “Because in exchange, I’m going to go undercover to get intel on a suspected traitor to the alliance that may be dealing with the alleged assassins picking off the other masters. He’s a small dojo owner outside Mapleburg, Master Chen. I don’t know how long I’ll be there, but that was the agreement and I accepted their terms.”

“What about my say in it!?” Misako’s eyes started watering. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to do this!?” She gripped his arm. “I don’t want you to leave me here for who knows how long undercover!!” 

He looked tired, not in the mood to fight with her now. “Because I knew you’d just shoot down my idea. Koko, I don’t wanna fight about this-”

“I just had a miscarriage and you’re going to leave me all alone!? This isn’t fair! What about the rest of the team?! What about Wu!? He relies on you too! We all do! What if you get killed by this guy!? You’re not subtle at all!” 

“Wu will be fine. You’ll be fine,” he rested his forehead against hers. “I need to get away from this place, even if it’s for a little while. I can’t be here, and you shouldn’t wanna be here either.” He wrapped both arms around her. “I love you so much. Just try to sleep.”

She buried her face in his chest, “I don’t want you to leave me.” She muffled. “Maybe we should just run away after all.”

“It’s treason if we both abandon the other elementals and you know my dad would like nothing better than to have a valid reason to punish us.” He sighed. “Please just sleep for now, we’re gonna leave the day after tomorrow. I promise you’ll enjoy yourself, it’s nice and warm, and you won’t have to worry about any of this. It’ll be a wonderful change of scenery, you can take the time to heal…”

He sat there for a little while longer before laying her back down, tucking her in as she protested again against his idea until she drifted back off. He felt so guilty seeing her teary eyes again. He sighed to himself and went into Wu’s room next, the younger brother reading a book. 

“Hey,” Wu looked up, seeing the brunette looked even more exhausted. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Garmadon nodded, his voice cracked a bit, holding a hand to his face, feeling another breakdown coming on. “I’ll be fine… I’ll be fine” He sat at the foot of the bed, sniffing while pulling his fringe out of his eyes. “What did you wanna talk about?”

“I, well, I don’t think it’s a good idea you guys leave.” Wu pulled his knees to his chest. “What did she say?”

“She got mad of course. I didn’t expect her to be sold on the idea in the first place.” Garmadon laid back, staring at the ceiling as they talked. “You know, she wanted to be the full time archeologist before the Serpentine declared war? The board gave her the job too, before she put it on hold out of obligation to her elemental clan.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot all about that,” Wu nodded. “Namiko was studying to be a nurse, Kasai was in the middle of his blacksmith training with Master Hiroshi… it’s been so long and difficult, I forgot everyone actually had plans for their lives, well, except for me.”

Garmadon looked back at his younger brother. “Yeah I gotta say, leave it to you to have something good come out of a war.” He joked. “I’ll let you be my best man, if you let me be yours.”

Wu nearly choked on his own breath. “What? You think- me and Sayu? I don’t think that’ll ever happen. I mean, do you think anybody would let that happen? I’ve never even met her family and I know they don’t think highly of me already thanks to how dad must talk about me.” He quickly made up all the excuses he could think of.

“Bro, no offense, but your life has been pretty miserable up until now, might as well take whatever happiness comes your way. Especially since you’ve been, like, nice to the rest of us again.” Garmadon advised. “You just gotta promise me you’ll protect Misako while I’m away doing this job.”

“Yeah; of course!” He looked over to his brother, “But you gotta promise to write, all the time, and find time to visit maybe,” he rested his chin on his knees. “Like when Sayu and I get married.” He smiled a bit, joking.

“You should propose though, she likes you a lot. Just consider it while we’re still alive. Don’t do anything you’ll eventually regret.” Garmadon sat back up, sighing deeply once more. “I don’t know what we can do anymore. I feel trapped.” He held his hands over his face. “I wish everything would just get resolved.”

Wu nodded, “Honestly, same,” he closed his eyes. “Ever think that if one of us has a kid, dad would die?” He sat back, thinking out loud. The two looked at each other. “I mean, think about it. Or maybe he wouldn’t die, but maybe inherit all of his powers at least?”

“Please, you read too many scrolls,” Garmadon stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets. “He’d be hella selfish if that was the case though, I will admit.” He gestured for the younger sibling to follow him out. “Come on, we’re going out.”

Wu slowly followed him. “Where’re we going?”

“I don’t know,” the older admitted. “Wherever we want I guess… maybe a bar; I feel like getting hammered and forgetting for a little while.”

The younger smiled a bit. “Wanna help me pick out a ring for Sayu first? Then we can get drunk.”

“Oh, I thought you were too scared of what her family thought about you though?” Garmadon raised his eyebrow with a knowing smirk. 

His brother sheepishly grinned, “Maybe you inspired confidence… for once.” He joked. “I recommend you get something for Misako while we’re out, she’ll surely continue to be mad at you for a while. You know she likes camellias and peonies.”

Garmadon huffed, “Yeah, you’re right… for once,” he nodded, smirking as he jabbed back. “Come on, I’m already planning on what I’m gonna get at the bar.” Wu elbowed him and they left the monastery, throwing ideas around.


	11. Chapter 10

Chen’s Dojo, Mapleburg, August 1983

Garmadon looked at the wooden gateway with the small sign that read “Master Chen’s Dojo” across it. He looked back at the dirt road he came down from the city, sighing heavily; already this place felt so deserted and lonely without any of his friends around him. There would be no more hanging out by the lake or sparring altogether, it’d just be work.

It looked quaint enough, with weathered wood and walls like looked like they needed a paint job. The stone lion statue that guarded the pathway to the front porch was partially eroded and clearly very old. But as Garmadon knew, looks could easily deceive, for all he knew, Chen was not some humble, small time martial arts teacher who played spy and information broker for the other masters.

If this guy was really double dealing under the table in favor of the Serpentine, he clearly would have money and men backing him, that also meant he would be far more dangerous to deal with if Garmadon should be caught trying to spy on him and get proof of these suspicions.

“Maybe I did make a mistake in taking this job, Misako was right”. He slouched before readjusting his backpack and walked on through, accepting his reality. “Maybe something good will come out of this though,” he thought about it more. “On the bright side, I won’t be around my dad… and I could even learn something new, like alternative ways I can fight without my powers. Gosh I hope this guy won’t catch on to why I’m here.”

He stood on the stoop of the dojo, looking around before deciding to finally knock. Almost right away, another young man that looked about his age, maybe a bit younger, answered the door. The two kind of just stared at each other for a moment. 

“I take it you’re not Chen,” Garmadon finally asked when the other was rudely silent. 

“Aaand, who the hell are you?” The other had a deadpan look on his face, not budging as he clearly did not want to welcome the new student inside.

“Clouse, why are you always like this? Invite the boy in! He’s been expected for a while now. I surely told you he was expected” Another man’s voice was heard from inside. “Sorry about him,” the owner of the voice revealed himself, shoving the shorter one out of the way. “He’s, well, a handful to say the least.” He guided Garmadon in. “I must admit; I was surprised to hear an elemental master wanted to actually train all the way out here, most rely on their powers you know.”

Chen didn’t really look like how he’d imagine; the guy was way shorter than he expected, clearly in his mid forties with dark red hair pulled back. His attire was even more out of the ordinary; fine looking robes that were red, purple, and black, and he wore some kind of snake tooth necklace, definitely not what anyone would expect the owner of a humble little martial arts dojo to wear, especially with one that looked as old and run down as this.

“Uh, yeah,” Garmadon finally responded as looked around the small place, Chen showing him around, the inside didn’t exactly match the outside too come to think of it. The walls looked thin, but the furniture definitely did not look cheap. He snapped back at attention though. “Well, I like a challenge, you know? Twenty-five years of studying magic powers kinda gets old, hehe. Plus my dad’s an annoying, lousy teacher.” 

“You have a good head on your shoulders Garmadon, I mean, I’m not an elemental master myself, but I do know using magic like that will easily drain your energy and it’s never good to rely on simply one source for anything.” Chen looked back. “Clouse isn’t an elemental master, but he does have… other useful “abilities” to say the very least.”

The younger student smirked, a swirl of dark purple smoke in his hand. Garmadon blinked. “Oh, a black magic user? Wow, I never met one before. It’s a pretty uncommon practice up north where I’m from.”

“It’s pretty uncommon everywhere actually as most get put to death,” Clouse mumbled. 

“So here’s your room,” Chen turned down a small hallway. “That’s Clouse’s room across from you. You’re the first new student I’ve had in a while! Clouse normally chases the other young ones away, doesn’t look like you’ll be fazed by his antics in the slightest. After all, you’ve seen far worse I’m sure.”

Garmadon stepped in. The room was about the size of his back home with a bed, closet, and dresser with an empty sword holder on top for his weapon to rest. “So is he your son or-?”

“Oh no, Clouse? I met and taught him when he was a boy, and when he was seventeen; he finally ran away from home and started living here. Poor kid’s had a troubled life, no real friends or anything. Hey, maybe having someone older like you around will make a good impression on him.” Chen grinned, patting Garmadon on the shoulder. “I can only hope you’ll get along!” 

As the master had said that, Garmadon glanced back to see Clouse was still glaring from across the hallway with the same dead expression. “Uh, yeah, I’m sure we’ll get along great,” suddenly his optimism plummeted at the thought of being forced to hang around another moody student all the time. “Man, just when Wu and were getting along again, I’m forced in with another jerk!”

Sighing again, the brunette shut his door, dropping his bag and sheathed sword on the bed, deciding to unpack his things before anything else. After rummaging through his robes and other clothes and necessities, he pulled out a picture he took of Misako, yep, he still felt very guilty, probably even more now he pretty much abandoned her for this job. 

“Man, I’m sorry Koko,” he shook his head, putting it on his side table. “Maybe she’ll come and visit sometime,” he thought out loud. “Unless she’s too busy with her new position,” he sat down on the bed. “I hope to the gods that I won’t have to be stuck here for long…”

 

Misako looked out the window of the café, completely lost in thought. “Oh come on Misako, he said he’d call and write, and maybe even visit!” Sayu forced a smile to try and light the other’s mood. “You two have been through so much, something like this can’t possibly break you up now!” 

The older woman turned her attention back to her friend. “That’s what pisses me off the most to be honest. After everything, after all these years, he didn’t even consult me; he just made the deal and whisked me away for a week and half only to dump me here to lead this whole mess.”

“But it was all expenses paid, right? And you have more of a say in what goes on so maybe you can do something about all of this faster!” Sayu’s grin wobbled a bit, it was hard trying to convince her to not be so upset. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, but what’s with the ring? I thought you told me that you and Garmadon weren’t going through the whole formality of proposals and engagement rings.”

The earth master looked down at her ring finger. “Oh yeah…”

 

*****

 

Misako leaned on the railing to the bedroom’s balcony, staring off at the moon’s reflection on the water beyond the beach.

“There you are.”

She didn’t even bother to turn around to face him. It had been four days since they got to the island and still she wasn’t able to relax at all. This kind of serenity was actually unnatural to her; maybe she just forgot what it was like to have a normal life. 

“Hey, Koko?” She looked to her right when Garmadon stood next to her, putting a hand over hers. “I’m still sorry I didn’t talk to you about this job; please don’t be mad at me. You’d probably do the same thing you know.”

“You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?” she slouched, looking back out. “Unlike you, I know when to not be so impulsive and inconsiderate.”

“And there’s no way I can ever make it up to you?”

“Probably not,” she listlessly responded, but she knew she was joking at least; she’d get over it at some point, what’s done was done and it’s not like she’d just up and leave him over one dumb thing a small as this. Maybe in her heart, she knew she was being a bit selfish and that his decision could help resolve the war faster.

“Well there goes my plans for when I expose this Chen guy and come home. I guess I’ll have to get a new partner or something that’ll like to have this.”

She frowned, standing up and looking back over to see her boyfriend holding a shiny, silver ring in his hands. “Huh?”

“I wanted to make it official, but if you’d rather just sit on it, then I guess I’ll let Wu use this to propose to Sayu-”

“Yes.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t even know what I was gonna say.”

“Just yes,” she wrapped her arms around his waist as she closed her eyes. “Like you were even worried I’d leave you.”

“Thanks Koko,” he wrapped his arms around her small frame. “As soon as I get back, whether this war ends or not, we’re getting married.”

“Then that means you just have to come back alive.” She looked up, giving him her left hand to slip the ring on. “Thanks.” She leaned back on him as they continued to embrace. 

 

*****

 

She shrugged. “Guess he wanted to surprise me and make it official before he left.” She pulled it off to look at it. It was silver, inlaid with two big emeralds and a small diamond. “He said it was his mother’s ring and that I should have it for safekeeping or whatever.”

“How sweet,” the younger folded her hands together, clearly adoring the idea. “You know, seeing you two together, it’s got me thinking about maybe being that close with Wu. I don’t know it it’ll ever happen to be honest, he’s so troubled and preoccupied with other stuff, maybe it’s just best we wait a while to see if we will be a good enough fit.”

Misako laughed, “Trust me Yuyu, he has eyes for you; I don’t think he even looks at me anymore.” She sat back in her chair. “I think he’s finally smitten with the idea of being with you long term. I think you’re very good for him.”

Sayu noticed her friend started staring off into space and placed a hand on hers to help bring her back. “So how are you feeling about, well, you know?”

“Still awful.” Misako took her glasses off to wipe them, pulling her hand back. “I hope you never have to go through this.” She shook her head. “It’s the most devastating feeling in the world. I’m really still not over it and I won’t be for a long time. Even if everything gets wrapped up within the year, I don’t know when I’d be ready to try again.” She wiped her eyes. “And getting away didn’t really do anything for me in the long run, I knew it wouldn’t. Maybe it helped him, but I still wanna find that friggin time ninja and give what’s coming to him once and for all.”

“Well you are a general now,” Sayu sipped her tea. “You start tomorrow so maybe Garmadon can find something about the hired assassins and you can hunt them down. You can still work together even if he’s so far away from you!”

Sayu did have a point there. “Okay, I concede to that idea,” she grabbed her own tea to drink. “I will also admit I have some time to go before I can actually be in a fight, I have to sit with the council and look at maps and what not until I’m physically up to par. Poor Namiko’s been nonstop trying to help me get back on my feet, all but nearly running herself into the ground with healing sessions.”

“Why don’t you get another, more experienced water master that could possibly do the job faster?” Sayu tilted her head, confused. 

Misako shrugged, “She insists she wants to be my personal aid or something,” she sipped her drink. “Don’t forget, she was going to study to become a nurse or doctor when this all started, she’s very passionate about it. I do appreciate it though, and you too,” she smiled, “I still don’t think I need a personal aid, but I must say, it’s nice to have someone always around to talk too.”

“It’s no big deal, I just want to help in any way I can!” Sayu looked down. “You know, I sometimes forget I really am such a newcomer to the group.” She awkwardly chuckled. “I appreciate how all of you include me so much in everything around here. It’s so strange how used to the commotion I’ve become.”

“Just means you integrated well with us knuckle-heads,” Misako joked back. “We’re all a pain to be around, how do you stand it?”

“Oh don’t say that about yourself! You’re a wonderful leader, you’re super intelligent, you don’t horse around like most of the others either, yet you’re so approachable! You’ll be a great leader on the council; quite far from a pain in my opinion.”

Misako smiled more, “Thanks, Yu. Sometimes it makes me sad that instead of using any of my knowledge for discovery and teaching others, I have to use it to fight our enemies. At least I’m almost a hundred percent fluent in four of different Serpentine dialects, no doubt that’ll come in handy if we make it out of this alive.”

“Well,” Sayu raised her cup, “here’s to not dying I guess.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Misako smiled. “I just hope Garmadon has an easy time.” She lowered it, sighing. “I really miss him and it hasn’t even been a whole week yet… man I’m pathetic.”

Sayu set her cup down. “Oh I think separation anxiety is natural, you’re partners and his time away is indefinite! But I’m sure he’s fine! This IS Garmadon we’re talking about.”

 

*****

 

“Do it again!” 

“It’s raining out and you have a dirt training field!!” Garmadon snapped as Clouse refused to remove his foot from over his chest. “This isn’t exactly fair you know.” He looked back to the smug younger student.

“I thought you came here to learn new methods and ways of getting out of a situation. You think your enemies will ever play fair?” Chen sat in his chair on the nice dry deck under the overhang. “Come on, Clouse, let him up and do it again.” 

Garmadon sighed as he flicked mud from his robe’s sleeves, rolling them up past his elbow, grabbing the staff he had dropped. “Okay punk, it’s very obvious you’ve gone unchallenged for far too long.” He glanced back at his opponent as he grumbled in his head, trying to hide a smirk. “You can make the first move.” He then called over. 

“How generous,” Clouse gripped his staff, swinging it around. Garmadon ducked faster, rolling around behind the younger man, kicking him in the middle of his back which sent him into the mud this time, face first too! “What the-?!” 

“You started with the same move as last time,” Garmadon leaned on the bamboo staff, explaining. “You can’t expect an opponent won’t pick up on that after a while. You’re clearly used to dealing with younger opponents than yourself. Try mixing it up a bit. Also, don’t think I’m some pathetic newbie that can’t hold my own in a fight without magic.”

“Okay just who is this guy!?” Clouse pointed to the brunette, looking back at Chen, pissed off. “He’s hustling me over here!! You trying to replace me or something!?”

Chen laughed, “Of course I’m not Clousey-boy! I didn’t realize this prospect would have such a nasty bite, maybe nastier than you! Consider him my newest challenge for you!” He stood up. “Go clean yourselves off before you catch pneumonia,” he waved his hand, stepping back inside. “I can’t have you both getting sick now.” He tossed them two towels.

“You look familiar you know,” Clouse side-eyed Garmadon as he dried his hair.

“Yeah, I bet I do,” the older smirked, balling the towel up. “Depends if you read the papers or watch the news often, I do make the rounds on both with my girlfriend and former team.” He admitted. 

“You’re one of THEM,” Clouse spat, realizing who was just kicking his ass. “Those insane elemental students that live up in that monastery, tearing up cities they allegedly save!” He took a step away from him, knowing what horrible bodily harm he’s probably done to Serpentine. 

Garmadon laughed, “The very ones!” His delight seemed to annoy Clouse more. “I can tell you’re a fan.”

“I thought your name sounded familiar! Man, what a pathetic glory hog you are, thinking you can come in here and school ME of all people.” Clouse accused. “Anything else I should know before you decided to not hold back for your own entertainment in fights?”

The brunette turned to the shorter man and extended his hand to him. “Name’s Garmadon; master of destruction, the prospected wielder of the golden sword of fire, the great war hero, and… son of Masuta the First Master of Spinjitsu.” He enjoyed seeing the dumbfounded look on the other’s face. “My resume is quite long so I like to cut to the chase and give only the best highlights.”

Clouse smacked his hand away, rolling his eyes at the playful arrogance of the other. “Oh I don’t care how great you claim to be! Everybody has a weakness, you won’t take my place as top student here; I promise that. I have plenty of my own tricks up my sleeve!” 

“Well, I certainly don’t care about silly titles like that, keep your position, I don’t intend to be a pet like you.” He strode past the shorter to return to his room to change.

That pissed the other off because next thing he knew, he was on the ground with rope of dark matter around his waist and legs, pinning him the floor. “I’m nobody’s pet, got it? Chen saved me when I thought I was better off dead. I owe him my life because he earned my loyalty. I doubt you’d understand something like that you pampered, rich boy.”

When he left the room, Garmadon was release. “Yeesh, what a drama queen,” he dropped the towel and shut the door to his room behind him “Silly to assume I was some pampered brat.” He looked at Misako’s picture. “We were both far from that.” He laid back on his bed.

“I just hope I can gain Chen’s trust well enough, the faster I sort this whole thing out and get good, undisputable evidence he’s a traitor, I can go back home and be with Misako. We can end this war faster and we can get married… and try that family thing again.” He drifted off to sleep, thinking about her. 

 

*****

 

“Lady General, you have an audience request from someone,” Sayu sighed, sounded annoyed as she walked by the tent flap where Misako was seated in, pouring over maps and marking off secured zones for the recon team that had come back not too long ago. 

“I said to stop calling me that Yuyu! It’s still just Misako,” she mindlessly answered. It was weird being in this kind of position of power. Everyone on the council started calling her that and she didn’t like it one bit if she was being honest; too formal for her taste. 

“Baby sis! Look at you! You got a promotion!!” 

She looked up right away. “Oh my gods, what do you want? I thought I told you to never show up in my camp ever unless you wanted me to punt you to the moon!” Misako growled at her annoying older sibling. “Don’t you have candy to steal from babies or something just as petty?”

“Aaw, that’s not nice Misako!” Ronin walked up to her, patting her on the head jokingly. “Where’s your boyfriend anyways? He’s always fun to see!” He looked around the tent. “Garmadon, right? It feels like forever since I saw that guy in person! My boyfriend was hoping for an autograph you know.” 

“Away,” She sighed, deciding to leave it at that. “Why are you wasting my very precious time?” She quickly folded up maps, hoping he didn’t catch a glimpse. “Did a Serpentine general pay you off to snoop through my things? You shouldn’t have even been allowed this far in the camp to begin with!”

Ronin laughed, “Okay, believe it or not sis, I promise I’m here with good intentions,” he covered his hand over his heart. “One of your own paid me off to get some hot tips on the snake activity.” He smiled, pull a rolled up map from her hands. “First off, that’s not a secured area, the one you just checked off as safe, Hypnobrai thrive in the cold and normally burrow under snow so they can snatch up soldiers, you don’t stand a chance! And over here, you’re going to need an insane amount of firepower to tear up a Venomari camp in the jungle zones.”

“How do I know I can trust any of this info!?” Misako yanked the map away. “Do you remember the Obsidian Shrine Heist!? You just had to grab that dumb glaive that nearly got me in jail for just trying to remotely defend you! You are the last person I would trust with anything.”

“Not even babysitting!?” Dead silence from his sister. He looked a bit confused at her pissed off glare that was even harsher than any of her past looks combined. “Wait, what? I can’t even get to see my own niece?”

“Get out,” she ordered him. 

“Uh, Misako? You’re scaring more than usual,” he tried to grin more, but felt very endangered. “I get it you’re protective and everything over your kid, but like, I promise I wouldn’t do anything remotely dangerous around or to her, plus I’m great with kids-!”

“I miscarried thanks to a stupid assassin you probably are involved with somehow for that damn Anacondrai coward Arcturus!” She shouted in his face. “Not that you would even care about me and my family as long as you get your damn money!” She shoved him away. “Now get out of my camp and don’t you ever come back here, got it?”

“Wait, Misako, you’re serious? What assassin!? I’m an information broker! I don’t get involved with assassins!” He wasn’t joking anymore; he actually looked concerned for her. “Did this just happen!?”

She had a look of disbelief at his questions. “Why would I ever joke about something like this!? I may not like you, but I would never lie about THAT!” She went to grab her scythe to scare him out if he was going to continue to hang around. 

“I get it! I get it! I’m leaving,” he backed out. “You could have wrote me you know! I still live in Styxx! Do you even read my letters?” 

The younger sister laughed, “What makes you think I would care to let you know that? We’ve been over this; when you decided to turn into a mercenary, you opted to be my potential enemy. You have no loyalties to anyone, not even with me. And I don’t care about what you’ve been up to either so duh I wouldn’t read your dumb letters!”

“Listen, I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t know about your kid! I’ve been going through a lot of shit recently and I just thought I could-” 

“I know you didn’t know,” she lowered her weapon. “Maybe I want to keep it that way,” she wiped her eyes. “Now get out of here never show your face around me again.” Her teeth and jaw clenched tighter.

“Okay, hint taken,” Ronin backed out, “I’m sorry,” he repeated again. “I’d never do anything that’d harm you, ya know.” He tipped his bamboo hat to her and left.

“You lie so much that I can’t even believe that.” She turned her back on the door way.

Misako was left alone finally; she wiped her eyes which started stinging. Part of her felt bad for lashing out, but it was also a good reminder that he should stay far away. “He’s a detriment to the other elementals. I can’t believe I can’t even trust my own family, he’s just too much of a risk though.”

 

*****

 

“What makes you think we can trust him anyways?” Clouse mumbled to Chen as they watched Garmadon train with a sparring dummy from a window in the dojo. “He’s the son of your enemy you know; talk about a risky judgment to make.”

“I don’t know Clouse, he contacted me about training here and he seems to be, well, not what I expected from Masuta’s lineage. If he was some prim and proper boy with manners and obeyed everything I said without talking back, then I’d be more worried he was hiding something.” Chen closed the curtain and shrugged. “But It’s been a little over a week, so it doesn’t matter, I want to give it some more time. For now, keep the dealings private as usual. I can’t trust him until he becomes one of us.”

“Kind of hard to keep things private when he always hangs around. He’s really nosy! To the point I don’t think it’s just curiosity!”

Chen laughed, “You and your sister were also very nosy when you came here you know; I can’t peg him as a spy for being merely curious about this old place.” He walked by. “Jessica, darling, who is my next meeting with?” He called to another person in the other room as he walked out.

Clouse looked back out the window at Garmadon. “Hmph, you’ll have to prove you aren’t some elemental master’s shill if you want any of my trust.” He headed for his room.

Garmadon looked to the window as the curtains were closing when he felt eyes were on him. “So they really don’t trust me, I figured they would have their guard up for a while anyways, I just don’t want to be here for too long… oh well,” he decided to stop training and headed inside, maybe he could overhear something if he listened hard enough.


	12. Chapter 11

Chen’s Dojo, Mapleburg, November 1983

Garmadon woke up to a gong blaring through the very thin walls of the dojo. “Sunrise practice boys! Up and at ‘em!” He saw Chen through a his door that was cracked. He also saw a blast of black energy almost hit the older master through Clouse’s door. 

“Stop trying to bring back sunrise practice and let me sleep!” The younger student shouted, clearly pissed. 

“Well I’m awake now,” he pushed himself up, feeling the chill in the air. “Morning Koko,” he sighed, looking at the picture, he really did miss her terribly, what he wouldn’t give to have her in bed next to him. 

Not able to get back to sleep, he decided to look at the other pictures he brought along to help him get through the job. “At least I can probably visit for Christmas,” he sighed. “If there isn’t a war to be fought of course.” He mumbled to himself, glancing at the door to make sure Clouse or Chen weren’t listening to out loud talking. 

An hour later and he heard Clouse finally get up so he decided to go out too. It would be a lie if he said he absolutely hated being there. He was right in being happy Masuta wasn’t around and Chen and Clouse’s antics were quite entertaining to say the very least, he certainly got used to it now. 

“Morning,” Garmadon said, grabbing the box of cereal from in front of Clouse. “Don’t you get tired of eating corn flakes every morning?” He yawned. 

“Don’t you ever get tired of being the perky one?” Clouse shot back. “Most others get worn down and leave by now.” 

“Guess I have better stamina for bullshit than they did.” Garmadon sat as far away as possible from the fellow student and opened the box. 

Clouse just stared as he watched him reach his hand into the box. “Can you please use a bowl; or at the very least a spoon?!”

“Nah, it’d be a waste of dishes if you ask me.” The older had grabbed another handful from the box as he nonchalantly ate the cornflakes from his hands. “I’m a very considerate house guest as you can see.”

“Well now you’re just trying to annoy me with your improper manners.”

“Ooh, you catch on quick Clousey,” Garmadon sarcastically shot back, having a little too much fun with it. He did enjoy taking the piss out of Clouse any chance he got. He was definitely not planning on ever being that guy’s punching bag so he dished it out whenever he could. “So what’s the deal with the pretty lady in orange I see from time to time? Another one of Chen’s pets I assume?” he smirked.

“Jessica Hikori is not some pet of Chen’s,” Clouse corrected him. “She’s kind of like caretaker of the dojo is all. She is well respected and her father happened to be the previous owner of the place before selling it off to Master Chen.”

“So she’s like some kind of slave that came with the dojo as a package deal?” Garmadon set the box of cereal down. “Kind of creepy if you ask me, her dad must have been whack.”

Clouse looked hesitant. “She was very close to Master Chen when he bought the place and she didn’t wanna leave is all. I mean, it makes sense he’d want his girlfriend to stick around his home if she had no better place to be.”

Garmadon raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to keep lying for him you know. I’ve seen him mess around with the other servants plenty of times; though he does treat her a bit differently come to think of it.” He frowned. “But they hardly act like their in any kind of long standing intimate relationship.”

Garmadon had only been at the dojo for around four months and he really did try to dig up anything on these guys. The funny part was that Clouse would tell him almost anything if he made the wrong assumption, just to try and make him feel like an idiot. He now knew he had a name of the previous owner and how Chen acquired the place.

“So what does Miss Hikori actually do as an assistant? Seems kind of like an unnecessary job around here unless she was a typical maid like the others.” 

“Ask Chen yourself if you’re so nosy about his personal life and decisions.” Clouse ignored any further questions. 

“Welp, there goes anymore answers for me I guess.” Garmadon thought to himself. He got up, taking the cereal box with him. 

“HEY!” He chuckled when hearing the pissed of Clouse. 

“See you at noon for practice. I hope you’re ready to get your ass whooped, again,” Garmadon smirked. 

 

*****

 

Camp of the Elementals, Hikari Village, November 1983

Misako sat back in her seat as she and the other council members heard the report from a water master. “Masters Jarus of Sound and Rekken of Fire were both disposed of. Their bodies were discovered yesterday morning at the camp in the Elder’s Pass.”

“Two more strong leaders down,” an older woman sighed. “Any indication of who the assassin was? We have quite a database to compare information.” 

“I’m very sorry madam, but it doesn’t look like any of the other water masters can pinpoint a unique cause of death for them.” The blonde bowed her head, apologizing. “We’ll continue to look and compare to the list of assassins Master Neuro wrote up for us,” she bowed again and walked out. 

“Shame we don’t know who’s hiring them out. I sincerely doubt Arcturus or any of the other snakes would have such a vast web of criminals at their disposal, they have been quite literally been living under rocks.” Another master spoke up. “There’s obviously a middle man that must have come to them.”

Misako sat back up, “Master Garmadon is still working on it. He doesn’t have proof yet, but he’s now very certain that our ally in Mapleburg, Master Chen is the one hiring out and making deals under the table to get resources like hired hands and extra weapons to the Anacondrai and company.” That piqued the interests of the others for sure. “He also suspects that the Sakura Falls issue last spring was because of him.”

“Until he gets some shred of tangible proof, I’m afraid the court marshal won’t stand.” Another master sighed. “Please report back to Master Garmadon that if he can get physical correspondence letters from the Serpentine or any of the hired assassins, he can return and we can move in to apprehend Chen and his company at the dojo. He also needs to know the updated list of assassinated masters so he knows what to look for.”

Misako smiled and nodded. “I will personally deliver the message. I don’t think we should risk them coming across letters or listening in on phone calls.”

“A sound idea,” the others agreed. “Please make sure that you don’t show up under suspicious pretenses though general. We can’t have his cover blown just because you want to want to hand deliver a message to your fiancé. You’re now known as another high ranking master.”

“I will make sure the visit will have a perfectly acceptable reason master,” she smiled a bit, but full on grinned when she turned away to leave the meeting tent, elated at the idea of spending time with Garmadon again after so long, plus it’d be interesting to finally meet this Master Chen she’s only heard stories about. 

 

*****

 

“Well you seem excited,” Wu noticed Misako when she came back home early. “They giving you time off or something again?”

“Tana’s in charge while I head to Mapleburg!” Misako ignored the question and announced to the others. 

“Mapleburg?” The others looked confused. “Wait, you’re going to get time off just to see Garmadon!?” They started getting uppity when she suppressed a chuckle. “Hey no fair! We’ve been running around reconning and everything while you get to sit up at camp!”

She hurried to start packing a bag. “Well, it has to do with why he’s over there in the first place. The council is almost fully certain Chen’s the traitor now so he needs an update on the current intelligence and death count.” She got quite after that. “We need to make sure no other masters get caught off guard and murdered.”

“Well I shall look after the place in your stead,” Tanaka accepted the role. “Please be safe!” 

“I promise; I plan on taking the train,” she smiled back. “You just have to promise the whole place won’t burn down while I’m away.” She looked at Kasai who was watching the news on the couch. 

He looked deeply offended by the alluding to something being his fault again. “I just thought that I could cook the rice faster by using my own fire!” Namiko patted his shoulder in pitying silence. “No seriously! It would have worked!” 

“Oh how could I ever love such a moron? Yet here we are.”

“Also, as much as I dread saying this, but look after Masuta as well, the council is still unaware of his current deteriorating condition and he wants to keep it that way.” Misako looked to Wu, Namiko, and Sayu.

“We’ll keep it as quiet as possible. It’s not like the other masters visit here much anyways.” Wu shrugged. “He doesn’t seem to be getting any better though Mimi, someone is going to start asking questions sooner or later you know. What happens when he finally does pass?”

Misako chewed the inside of her cheek as she thought about that one. Every since Sigan infiltrated the monastery and attacked them, Masuta was never the same; he grew weaker and weaker as the few months flew by. She healed while he grew worse and no one knew how much time he would actually have left, it could be anywhere from a month to a couple of years. 

They were all worried about what would happen if he were to die during the war. Chaos would probably ensue with the other, younger masters that put way too much faith in the old man that rarely did anything to actually help them. It would certainly affect their cause in a negative way.

“Well I can at least use that as a suitable excuse for going to see Garmadon.” She grabbed her coat and headed out. “

 

*****

 

“Yeah, I recognize them I guess now that I look at it,” Clouse mumbled as he looked at a scrap piece of newspaper Garmadon had of him and the team after a battle a couple years back. “No wonder you have such a big ego.”

Garmadon just sat on his bed, rolling his eyes at the snarky comments made by the younger. “Sure you’re not just jealous? Sour grapes are an awfully bad thing to have as my dad once preached.” He continued to read through his book. 

The two looked up when hearing the knock on the door and they both got up to answer it, figuring anything would be more interesting than this current conversation. Garmadon was most surprised to see it was Misako there, waiting. She wasted no time in hugging him tightly before saying anything. Clouse was confused at first, but did recognize her. 

“The earth ninja from your pictures.”

“Misako,” She turned to greet Clouse, but he didn’t want to shake her hand it seemed. “It’s like living with Wu all over again huh?”

“Wu?” Clouse raised an eyebrow. 

“My brother,” Garmadon answered. “Misako, this Chen’s other student, Clouse. Clouse, this is my fiancée, Misako,” he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, but looked back to her. “Koko, what are you doing here? I thought you were busy back at camp!”

“Yes, an odd thing to just randomly show up here,” Clouse seemed to try to pry.

“I had to come in person for this,” she looked down. “Can we talk alone for a second?” She turned to her boyfriend. 

“Uh,” he looked a bit put out as he looked to a suspicious Clouse and then back to her. “Okay I guess?” He guided her to his room. “What was that about?” He asked after shutting the door. “No letter or anything saying you’d be coming here?!”

She took her coat off, sitting on the bed. “Okay, to be honest, a lot of things have been going on,” she admitted. “First off, at least eight high ranking masters have been offed since you left. The council is getting a bit impatient and skittish to send anyone else out. They need some kind of proof that Chen was involved with hiring them for Arcturus and the other snake generals.”

“Yeah, I’m working on that whole building trust thing, but you can’t build trust when your general girlfriend randomly shows up and asks to speak to you alone!” he pointed out. 

“I know, but they didn’t want to risk a message getting lost or being read by Chen and phone calls and radio transmissions can easily be intercepted if he really does have a whole operation set up here.” She countered. “That’s not the only reason though I came to see you though.” She lowered her head. 

“Aw,” he smirked. “Babe, I missed you a lot too, but trust me, I do not wanna go at it on this rickety bed; I feel like we could actually break this with one thrust.” Garmadon shoved his hands in his pockets. “Plus the walls are kind of thin and I don’t want the cuckoos that live here to listen in.

“What!? NO!” Misako looked entirely flustered by the mere idea of his alluding. 

“Oh wait, are you… again!?” He paled, looking down at her stomach.

“NO!” she held a hand to her face. “Trust me, I’m still recovering from… that,” she held a hand to her abdomen. “Your dad is dying. Namiko thinks he possibly could be gone by the new year, maybe the summer if she can get him to take things even easier and could drain more of the poisoned blood out.”

Garmadon looked surprised. “A lot has been going on for all of you then,” he looked down. “I wish I was able to do more, but my hands have been really tied. I can’t imagine what things must be like for everyone.”

Suddenly the door flew open to see Chen was behind it. “Garmadon! Clouse tells me you failed to introduce me to your guest! How rude.” 

“Forgive me.” Garmadon straightened up. “Misako, Master Chen,” he awkwardly smiled as he gestured to the teacher. “Master Chen, Misako.”

“So you’re the fine young lady he’s talked so much about. My, she’s even prettier than you talked her up to be,” Chen took her hand. “Though that name sounds quite familiar; are you perhaps another of those famous students of Masuta?”

Misako nervously laughed, “Ha ha, oh please, I’m nothing special! Honest!” She tried to wave off. “I’m sorry to say I had to visit though under sad terms so I can’t stay that long, I do have business to get back to, my team will miss me. I’d really hate to disrupt—”

“Nonsense!” Chen let go of her hand. “You should at least stay the night; it’s a long journey to our little dojo from your grand ol monastery. I’m sure a change of scenery for a day couldn’t hurt.”

“It’s no trouble, I enjoy a lot travelling a lot actually,” Misako nervously laughed. “I bet you three are very busy around here, I’d just get in the way!” 

Chen seemed to insist though that she stay. “Pish posh, taking a day or two off won’t hurt anyone, I’m sure it was the same during your training as well! I’m sure you two missed each other very much. Plus maybe Clouse can get a chance to spar such a girl like yourself; I hear you’re quite strong.” Clouse nervously laughed and quickly left the room when hearing that.

Garmadon and Misako exchange looks. “Well, I suppose if you insist, how can I refuse such a kind offer?” She admitted defeat to the older man who seemed please she accepted. 

For once, it was hard for her to read someone. Was he being suspicious? Cautious? Maybe he was simply just plain stupid and was overly friendly… no, he knew exactly who she was and suspected why she would come there. Misako knew he had many a secret he was trying to hide from the other masters back home. 

“Come now! My darling Jessica is a fine cook, just make yourself right at home! I’ll show you around even!” He guided the two out of the room as he talked on. 

 

*****

 

“You were not exaggerating about him,” Misako flopped back on the bed. “About either of them come to think of it. Clouse is just as standoffish and mean and Chen is… well something else entirely, you definitely did not convey his… eccentricity well enough.” She turned on her side, chuckling when seeing the picture on the side table. “So what’s with this?”

Her boyfriend looked back, kind of embarrassed now. “It’s what’s helped keep me going through all of this if I’m honest.” He sat down. “So you were serious about my dad?” She nodded her head. “Is it wrong to say that I’m not even sad about it?”

“I don’t know anymore what the right thing is if we’re being honest.” She pulled the blankets over her shoulders. “I don’t think he was ever a nice guy, he probably even rewrote a little bit of history to make himself look better than he actually was. Maybe he even put up a front for your mother to win her over.”

“That sounds like dad alright. Everything had to be perfect in his little world.” Garmadon laid back too. “You know, you said there’s sixteen realms outside of Ninjago right?” She nodded. “Ever think… dad came from one of those? He never really talked about where he came from, how Ninjago came to be, he’s always so vague about everything. All I and anybody really know about him was that Ninjago was created using the four golden weapons which were made at the Golden Peaks.”

Misako blinked when he said that. “Wait, if the Golden Peaks are here in Ninjago… how is that even possible!?” 

“I know right!? That’s what I said!!”

“Well I doubt we’ll ever get the full story. We’ll never understand him and I think I’ve made peace with that.” Misako closed her eyes. “Come on, just go to sleep.”

“But that means you’ll have to go when I wake up,” he brushed noses with her. 

“Then you better figure out a way to get him busted, before all our masters get wiped out and there won’t be a home to come back too.” She held his hand. “Goodnight honey,” she sadly smiled, kissing the tip of his nose as his arms wrapped around her to cuddle her closer. 

 

*****

 

Mountain of Impossible Heights, Hikari Village, February 1984

“I just think it’s adorable how much Garmadon and Misako care about each other,” Sayu sighed as she wiped down the countertops in the kitchen. “Even being so far apart, it’s kind of romantic. I’m jealous they have such a strong bond.” She sat on a bar stool, resting her chin on her folded arms.

Wu rolled his head back, sighing quietly to himself as he heard Sayu mumbled to herself. It was funny how that was what was on her mind right now. Punching the side of his leg, he walked out into the room. “Hey Yuyu.”

“Evening Wu,” Sayu looked over and smiled a bit. “Don’t suppose you’d like to help me with dinner?” She sat up. “Misako and the other are going to be back late. I think your father might actually come out and eat with us, isn’t that nice?” Her gray eyes looked hopeful at least.

“Y-yeah,” he looked away. They all had mixed emotions over everything as of late. Nothing seemed to be getting better for them, and oddly enough, Wu missed his older brother a lot now. The others were still standoffish around him so Garmadon was one of the only people he could hang out around without feeling so left out. 

The front door slid open and in walked Neuro, “Misako said I’d find you here,” he looked to Sayu who seemed confused. 

She hopped off her chair, “Oh, does she need me for something?” She bounced on the balls of her feet as she expected to hear orders.

“I wish I could say that’s why I’m here,” he took her hand and she stood still. “Your father, master Soichiro was assassinated.”

Sayu locked up when he broke the news. “I-I’m sorry, w-what?” She shakily breathed. 

“I’m sorry Sayu, we just got the report in. No one knows how an assassin got in; the base was virtually unknown to even most people in the upper ranks.” The mind master felt her hands squeeze his tightly. 

Wu had to catch her as she pretty much collapsed. “Yuyu,” he was concerned, she looked ill now. “Come on, let’s get her to a bed,” he swallowed, helping her along. “She’ll be okay.” He at least hoped that was the case. 

“I knew this would happen,” Neuro shook his head, “Are you sure she’ll be fine?” He looked back over to Wu.

“Yeah, I’ll take care of her,” the older nodded pulling her small body along.


	13. Chapter 12

Corridor of Elders, South of Ninjago City, February 1984

Sayu stood at the feet of the statue that now belonged to her father in memory. Wu was back aways, just watching her and giving her a moment alone with the memorial. The others had left a while after the dedication ceremony and funeral, wanting to give her space. 

He finally walked up and stood at her side, deciding that maybe having someone else there was better than leaving her to grieve on her own. “I wish I knew what it was like to have a good dad to be close with. I’m sorry. I didn’t really know him, but he seemed like a good guy.”

“He was the best father anyone could have asked for,” Sayu held back tears as she wiped the corner of her eye with her long sleeve. “He practically raised my sisters and me by himself.” She closed her pale eyes again, remembering. “My sisters were close with him too, but, well, not like he and I were. He taught me how to tame my powers and, well, he was just always there when I needed someone.” She rambled on. 

Wu looked at his feet; boy was he terrible with this stuff. His mother died when he was pretty young, so he didn’t really remember as much as maybe Garmadon did.

After more silence, he finally turned to her, holding her hand. “Sayu,” he swallowed. “I think… I,” he looked away, feeling awkward now. “I want you to marry me.” Her bloodshot eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything. “I want to be with you.”

She lifted a hand to touch his cheek. “Oh Wu.” Her eyes watered up even more and she trembled and she fell into his arms. They sat, knelt on the ground in a warm embrace. 

He smiled a little bit to himself, rubbing her back when he heard her crying into his shoulder. “It’ll be okay Yuyu… It’s my turn to take care of you.”

 

*****

 

Chen’s Dojo, Mapleburg, March 1984

Garmadon was sitting on the front porch of the dojo, tired and wishing Chen would just slip up already so he could go home. “This was a terrible idea, Misako was right; I had no business making the decision to take this mission that would take this long without telling her.” 

He then noticed the mailman coming down the road; he went to get up when the still mysterious Jessica showed up behind, extended a hand past him to take the stack of mail. “He doesn’t like snoopers going through his letters.” She quietly said, looking through the envelopes. 

“I just wanted to see if I had a letter from my friends or something,” Garmadon lied as he shoved his hands into his pockets, walking inside as well. 

She turned around, “Here,” she handed him a letter, “Your brother I believe.” He took it quietly from her and was about to walk away when she spoke up again. “He’s having a meeting tonight at eleven. They might be planning to discuss the next master to be taken out… and who will do it.” 

Garmadon paled a little bit when she said that. “W-Why would I care about-?”

“Because I know why you’re here… I don’t like Chen anymore than you or the other elemental masters do.” She went to quickly walk away when he grabbed her arm. 

“Wait a sec, now you decide to help me out after all this time? How did you even know that’s why I was here in the first place?” He was wondering if this was some kind of set up now as he glanced around to see if Clouse or some assassin was poised to take him out.

Jessica tucked the rest of the mail under her arm. “No one ever trains here for this long willingly unless you were already preconditioned like Clouse was.” She had a sad smile, “Please get him banished or whatever the elders plan to do; if I try to leave now, he’d just hunt me down and drag me back against my will.”

He looked around, still keeping his voice low for fear of being overheard. “Why does he want to keep you here? Is he that desperate?”

She sighed, pulling her arm back from his grasp before going to touch his ungloved hand for a moment. Holding out her palm, she produced a shadow cloud, just like he could. 

“You’re an amber master,” Garmadon breathed, looking at her palm as her hand closed back up; Jessica nodded. “My father told me there were no more though.”

“I’m one of, if not the only one, left. My mother was one too apparently, but she died when I was born leaving me to bear the bloodline.” She admitted. “When Chen found out what I was, he constantly tried to woo me, but my father died and the sale of the dojo went through, I had nowhere else to go, my only living relative is some cousin halfway across the country.” She bit her lip, “I’m almost certain Chen murdered my father to get his hands on this place… and me.”

“You could come back with me you know, the monastery is full of people who were abandoned and lost, you’d fit right in I think, maybe even get to master your powers and be more than some servant to this guy.” Garmadon offered.

“It’s a nice idea, but I don’t know if I’m cut out for that kind of thing, I’d rather just live a normal life.” She looked to maybe consider the idea, but her face was hard to read. “Chen may not be an elemental himself, but if there’s one thing he’s more obsessed with than Anacondrai, it’s elemental masters.” She sighed. “Watch your step, I really don’t want anything bad to happen to you; you seem like a nice guy. He’ll want to use you in any way he can.”

“Well, I can’t leave here until I find something that proves he’s double dealing.” Garmadon firmly told her. 

She frowned, shaking her head. “I’ll see what I can do about that for you.”

“You won’t get in trouble?”

Jessica shook her head and smiled a bit, “Being the obsession of Master Chen has it’s perks I guess. I think I can help convince Chen you’d make a worthy ally to him.” She seemed almost excited to pull one over on the older man. “If you’ll let me help of course.”

“I, well,” Garmadon folded his arms. “As long as you won’t get in trouble and blow my cover by helping.”

“I wouldn’t think of such a thing to you Master Garmadon,” she folded the mail in her long, orange sleeves and turned to leave him.

He watched as she disappeared down a hallway, seeming to purposefully drop an envelope for him to take. He pocketed the letter from his brother. “Sorry, bro, this will have to wait until later.” He grabbed the fallen mail and saw it was addressed from Styxx.

“Are you kidding me?” He sighed when he saw the city, knowing there could only be one hired hand from Styxx that could ever show up here. “Once Ronin sees me hanging around I’ll have no chance, he’ll expose me for sure. Unless I come up with some super believable lie…”

 

*****

 

Misako was in the living room as she looked over strategy maps, jolting when she heard the phone ring, braking her concentrated silence. “Hello?” She wiped her eyes as she reached over to pick it up. 

“Koko, it’s me.” Garmadon quietly said. 

“Where are you calling from?” She straightened up when she heard his voice. “Do you have news?!”

“Yeah, I’m in the library in town, Chen and Clouse were out and I think I might finally be able to get some dirt on them.”

“How did you manage that? Can you send me any letters or something in his handwriting?” She folded the maps up, sitting back on the couch, excited that he might finally be coming back. 

“I kind of made a new ally here to say the least, I really didn’t expect it.” He readjusted his hold on the phone. “Listen, there’s going to be a meeting tonight with somebody of importance, but guess who Chen’s been getting correspondence from?” 

“Who?”

“Ronin.” 

“I knew it,” she stood up, cheeks heating up from her anger. “That filthy traitor, pay him enough money and he’ll do anything. What a sleaze-bag.” Misako felt her face get hotter as she thought more about it. “What do you wanna do about this? You send me that letter of correspondence and we can probably a whole squad over there by the mid week to surround the place.”

“No, listen, I’m going to find out what’s going on tonight and see what Chen is planning next, I want to get him busted on more than just a letter. Ronin and any other mercenary I’ve ever fought will get suspicious if they see me hanging around with Chen. I have to keep up the lie for a little while longer.” he explained. 

“You want to stay even longer over there?” She was surprised to hear and, needless to say, very upset by that. “It’s been seven months since you went there. What’re you hoping to gain when you have enough proof!?”

Garmadon sighed, lowering his head, “Koko, if I can get in as one of them, I can slide you and the army information and feed Chen lies about base locations and ambushes and all sorts of stuff; think about it! If we get rid of Chen now, we still might have a long ways to go before we can end all of this. Why not use him like he used us?”

Misako gripped the phone tighter, he did make a point, but fighting fire with fire didn’t always work out for them. “I don’t think you understood my question honey. If he hasn’t trusted you so much after seven months, what makes you think he’ll make you a part of the inner circle today?” She chewed the inside of her cheek, thinking this over. “You can get in some serious trouble if you petition the council to not go through with the court marshal and withhold the current evidence. They want him gone as soon as humanly possible.”

“Well, I’m not just a plain ol’ human Misako.” He smirked as he replied cockily, but sighed when she didn’t respond to that. “Honey, please,” he leaned against the wall, “I want to get a little more time, if I can’t get trust by the end of the week, I’ll send anything you’ll want and we can arrest him.”

His fiancée looked back at the maps, tapping her foot on the floor, “I’ll give you two more days to gain his trust, after that, I’m telling the council you have the proof they want. If you don’t comply and send it in, I can’t get in the way of their punishment for you.”

“Gee, I love you too,” he sounded annoyed with her. “But yeah, I get it. Withholding information, blah blah blah, treason, I could be jailed and or have my powers magically stripped.”

“This is serious!!” She shouted back at him. “Maybe Tanaka should have been the one to go instead… I know HE wouldn’t be putting up such a fight about ORDERS from the very highest in command.”

“Tanaka isn’t as charismatic as me, he’d never stand a chance against Chen,” the brunette smirked to himself, looking at a clock on the wall. “I should get going, it’s getting late and I don’t know when they were supposed to get back.”

“Okay,” Misako said, “be careful and watch yourself. If my brother really is going to show up at some point soon, then your cover might actually get blown.”

“I can handle him, I’m a great liar! I mean, I am a ninja, I’d really suck at my job if I wasn’t a good spy.”

He heard her chuckle which made him smile. “Keep telling yourself that Garm. I’ll be waiting for an update.”

“Noted, love ya,” Garmadon hung the phone back up, quickly walking back down to the dojo, hoping that he wouldn’t be questioned as to where he was, and maybe secretly hoping Jessica was being sincere and wouldn’t rat him out.

As he was not hoping for, Clouse was waiting for him outside the dojo when he got back. “And where were you?” He asked the older student, blocking the steps by sitting on them. Garmadon rolled his eyes and started stepping around him. “Just know I will never see you as an ally or an equal,” he growled.

It was now that Garmadon was starting to wonder if Jessica opening up to him was some strange trick to get him to reveal himself and she was some loyal servant. His thoughts were interrupted though by Chen who was also waiting for him. 

“There he is!!” The younger man was taken a bit off guard by his overly friendly greeting. “I was wondering where you slipped off to, anyways, I’m glad you’re back, I need to talk with you.”

He started to sweat when hearing that. “Um, listen, I don’t know what Jessica said about me but-” 

“You’d make an excellent member of my group?” Chen interrupted him. Garmadon looked confused as he looked past the older man to the amber master who held a finger to her lips and winked. 

“Um, yes, well, I’m sure she exaggerated a lot!” Garmadon nervously chuckled, trying to play along. 

“Listen my boy, you’ve stayed with us for so long now, you’ve impressed me over and over again with your amazing skills in combat,” Chen went on. “What I’m trying to say is, I think I can use someone like you here, not just as a pupil.” 

“Well, this is all so sudden-”

“It is! The thing is that Jessie over there was saying that you feel you’ve learned all you could here and wanted to return home to your girl and, well, I think we both know that you have so much potential to do so much more than what you father would ever allow you to do back home.” 

Garmadon raised an eyebrow; his attention was definitely caught now. “How so?” 

Chen smirked, “I have a gift for bringing the very best out of those who remained so loyal to my teachings and, well, me,” he laughed. “But I know you can do so much more than simply following orders Garmadon. You’re the first born son of a god; surely you have capabilities that are unlike any other!”

“I’m flattered, but my father would probably disagree with that. I’ve been a troublemaker my whole life, I have to have someone like him keeping me in check.” He decided to play along, though he did enjoy the ego stroke.

“Well, I personally believe that your father is holding you back from reaching your true potential!” Chen continued on. “All he wants is a mindless drone to follow what he says! I see you try so hard to tame the glorious gifts and powers you were chosen for; it’s such a waste of talent!! Think of it like an exchange, you help me, I teach you how to reach that potential.”

He swallowed, processing the conversation and offer presented to him. 

He almost felt dirty for admitting it, but Chen might actually be right about him. All his life the other masters and his father berated him for speaking out of turn, causing trouble, and all other kinds of things, especially as a child, calling him of all things, the destructive one. His father always reminded him of this dark side that he “had to keep far away from or else something bad might happen”. 

Garmadon looked over to Chen, a little more serious now. “So… what’s entailed if I stay for longer?”

Jessica looked concerned at Garmadon now, he seemed a little too keen on the idea of taking Chen up on this offer; she’d have to talk about it with him later perhaps. 

 

*****

 

“Can someone get that?” Misako yawned; the only thing keeping her awake at this point was her fourth cup of coffee and she wasn’t in the mood to answer to any council members for any reason. 

“I have it,” Kasai picked it up. “Hello?”

“Put Koko on!!” 

“It’s ya boyfriend!” Kasai shouted. “By the way, you better come back soon, we miss you.” He told the older friend before handing the phone off.

Misako set her mug down and quickly took the phone, surprised he was calling back so soon. “Hey! That was quick, so what’s going on? It’s so late.” She looked at the wall clock.

“And yet you’re up, geez… Well, I just wanted to say I AM gonna be sticking around here for a bit longer.” Garmadon explained. 

She knew what that must have meant. “You’re kidding me…” she didn’t want to believe it, about to snap at him, she realized he might be calling from Chen’s landline and caught herself. “Why?”

“Listen,” Garmadon looked back at his door, knowing to also be careful of what he said while being in the dojo. “Chen offered me a pretty nice deal here. He told me he could bring out my true potential.”

“No he can’t,” Misako put a hand on her hip, wishing she was there in person to smack him for making another dumb decision without her. “If this has to do with spiting your father, you picked a REALLY bad time to do it.” She ran a hand through her hair, trying to not yell as Masuta, Wu, Rose, and Sayu were all asleep right now. “I mean it now, what’s going on?”

“I’m in, plain and simple.” Garmadon explained. “By the way… how do you feel about tattoos?”

“Oh my gosh what did you do?”

“It was kinda a necessity. I wanted to get some one day anyways.” He looked back at the long mirror against the far side wall of his room as he lowered his robe back to look at the new purple ink. “I do think it looks kind of cool though, hurt like a bitch though, I will admit.”

“You got a tattoo oh my gosh.” Misako pinched the bridge of her nose. “Garmadon, I’m coming over there. I think you’ve been away from reality a little too long and are just feeling isolated and detached again. Are you having a quarter of a life crisis!?”

Well now he thought she was just overreacting. “This isn’t a disassociation episode again. I’m fine, I swear. I can’t say any more right now, I’ll talk to you real soon, okay?”

The smaller woman looked back at the others as they watched her talking, surely wondering what the conversation was about and why she was so upset with him. “Okay, if you’re sure…” She sighed, hanging the phone up. “He’s going to be there a little while longer I guess.” She shrugged, hugging herself as she looked disappointed. 

“Ugh, seriously!? Nothing’s the same without him!” Kasai mumbled, plopping on the couch. “What happened anyways? What’s the plan now? I thought you said he might have written proof of treason.”

“He was telling me this morning that he wants to fight fire with fire and use him being a member of Chen’s inner circle to give us tips on what they’re going to be doing next.” She explained, feeling a migraine coming on she was so frustrated with that man. “In return he wants to know our plans so he can feed Chen false ones and make like he’s willing to betray his father.”

Edna chuckled, “You say that like it’s such a reach honey… but I do kind of like the idea of pulling a fast one on the snakes and causing some confusion.” The others nodded along in agreement.

“You’re kidding, you’re taking his side?! Really?”

Tanaka shrugged, “Well Mimi, you should have seen something like this coming, we all know you miss him a lot, but maybe he’s right and this will help us in the long run. We just need to win a few more battles and maybe we can weaken them enough to deliver a final blow. They’re numbers are reported to be much fewer than before.”

Misako shook her head, sitting down and covering her face with her hands. “I don’t know what’s right anymore. Our master is dying, even more elementals are getting killed, we don’t know where the next fight will be or if we’ll even win… I don’t even know how we’re going to take care of the Serpentine!! It’s been nearly three years since the first attack!!”

“I actually might have an answer for that problem.” The young masters looked to see their master in the doorway of the living room where they all sat. 

“Masuta!” Namiko was the first to her feet. “You should be in bed resting!! You never listen to anything I say! Why am I even called a medic if you won’t accept I know what’s best!?” She shouted. “And you wonder why Garmadon and Wu are so damn stubborn!! I’m convinced they get it from you!!”

“Miss Atin, please, I’ve been doing as you wish for months now, may I please speak freely in my own home?” He put a hand on her head as if silencing a yapping Chihuahua. She grumbled, but allowed him to speak as he wished. “I was thinking about how to subdue these pests myself and I’m please to say we have a solution in the works.”

“We?” Tanaka questioned.

Misako raised an eyebrow as well. “What’re you planning? You’re too weak to fight. We all know you’re barely hanging on here just getting out of bed for meals sir.”

He leaned on his walking stick. “Master Hiroshi, Kasai’s blacksmith instructor, and I have been speaking for the past week.” He glanced to Kasai, “his wife works with glass and ceramics, so they, along with another ally we have outside of Ninjago City, have an endgame plan in the works as we speak. It will take a small amount of time though.” 

“What is it?” the ice ninja asked. 

“Surely you know about the art of snake charming?” They all nodded at the master’s question. “Well Serpentine, at their core, are still snakes, therefore, I have commissioned specialty flutes be made and enchanted. When played, any Serpentine would follow the sound wherever the player would lead.”

“We could seal them away for good by leading them into a prison,” Edna looked to the others. 

“But where would we lead them to!?” They all started asking even more questions. 

“Listen,” Masuta finally hushed them. “Kasai, I would like you and Wu to handle this part. They’ll be making eighteen flutes, one for each of the elemental types so each clan can have their own. After they are done being constructed, you will bring the flutes to the enchanter. Her name is Mystake and she runs a special little tea shop several miles out from the city limits.” He explained. “After that, we just need to make sure all the snakes are in one place.”

“How are we going to do that?!” Namiko worried. “We might have cut down the army sizes, but that’s still a lotta snakes to mobilize! Surely you don’t think we can entrap them all!? They’re too smart to launch a full on attack where all the clans would be focused on single target…” She looked back to Misako, a devious smirk on her face. “On second though, maybe that won’t be so hard after all.”

Masuta looked confused by this. “Did I miss something here?”

Misako nodded, getting back up. “Garmadon has an in with Chen now, turns out, his little girlfriend is allegedly one of us and convinced Chen that he should be made a part of their inner circle.”

The old man looked surprised. “To think my oldest son would actually succeed at being a decent spy for us.” He shook his head. “We’ll see how badly he screws this job up; subtly will never be one of his strong suits.” He started walking back to his room to rest like Namiko continued to badger him to do.

After he returned to bed, Misako looked around, shaking her head. “Well, get to bed! We have a lot of work to do, I have to tell the council about this. I’ll also tell Wu about the flutes tomorrow and maybe we can figure out a good place to plan this final, last ditch battle.”

Without another word from the others, they all went to bed.


	14. Chapter 13

Chen’s Dojo, Mapleburg, April 1984

“OUCH!” 

Jessica stopped, glaring at Garmadon. “Well maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much if you just took care of this so it wouldn’t get infected in first place!”

“Well you could have told me Chen gets all his pets branded with a tattoo.” He grumbled. 

“Well, you didn’t have to get your whole damn backside. I thought you’d do something small like on your shoulder blade like I or Clouse did!” She was still impressed he sat so still when getting it done. 

He still felt stupid for that one, why did she have to be so right? “Well, go big or go home I guess, right?” He awkwardly chuckled about it, tightly smiling as he felt the skin burn more.

She rolled her eyes and continued. “So what’s next for us?”

“Oh, so you like being a part of my little spy mission now?” He chuckled, “I thought you didn’t like being involved with other elemental masters?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, I just said I wasn’t going to train at your monastery when this is all over,” she smirked. “Of course I’m going to help you; I want to get away from here in case you haven’t noticed, and you’re my best bet.” She got up, twisting the jar back on the ointment and looked serious again. “Seriously, what’re you going to do?”

Garmadon pulled his robes back on, thinking that one over; he almost forgot why he was there. It had been almost two weeks since he “joined Chen”; he had gotten a little be caught up in his new special treatment of being the favorite student. He was just enjoying letting loose in a battle instead of being taught to restrain the destructive abilities he possessed. 

But this also meant that he had nothing new to tell the council and he didn’t want to be reprimanded for goofing off while everyone else was at risk. “I’m… going to have to provide some kind of legit information to Chen to give the snakes aren’t I?”

“Well, if you want to retain this position you’re in.” The red head shrugged, leaning against the wall. “Try not to forget he’s only keeping you around because he wants to use you and nothing more. It’s just what he does; the moment you show you’re not of value, he’ll shut you out again and you won’t be able to use him back.”

“Yeah, true, I see your point.” He stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Last update I got was that we were having a bunch of flutes be made to charm the Serpentine into designated zones to be locked away in. I guess they’re going to do this during what they hope to be some kind of final stand. It’s not like I have too much to work with here other than a whole crucial key part of their end game.”

“And the council wants you to orchestrate the snakes to walk into the elemental masters’ ambush?” He nodded. “That could be tricky, especially since you know Clouse is going to dispute you right away and claim you’re setting them up, Arcturus too will side with him since he’ll know you’re the son of Masuta. You’re just going to have to prove yourself to get that last bit of trust you’ll need, but it doesn’t mean you can’t play it safe and start out small.”

Garmadon bit his lip, thinking about it, feeling guiltier. “I just feel so dirty even thinking about giving any actual info away.”

Jessica sighed, “Well, talk about it with them during the reports today, I don’t doubt you guys will figure something out. You should have enough time to think of something to tell the general himself.”

“Wait what?”

“Sorry,” she apologized, “I thought you were aware, General Arcturus is coming here tonight.” She explained. “Chen’s been running around like crazy the past two days trying to make everything “presentable” for him.” She rolled her eyes dramatically as she explained. 

“That’ll complicate things, but alright. I’m just going to have to be straight up and tell them I’ll be giving away a hideout’s location or something.” He got up, grabbing his bag when a crumpled up envelope fell out of it. “Huh?”

Jessica started leaving though. “I have stuff to do, tell me about the report later and if I can do anything else to help.” She started closing the door behind her. 

Garmadon pulled a letter out of the envelope, sighing to himself. “Damn it, I forgot all about Wu’s letter. I hope it wasn’t anything important.” He started reading through, only to stop part way in. “Oh my gosh he’s getting married?!” He stuffed it in his bag. “I’ll just talk to him after I check in with the council… He must think I’m heartless for not even bringing it up!” He hurried out the door. “I didn’t even tell him congrats!” 

 

*****

 

Camp of the Elementals, Hikari, April 1984

“Right on schedule this time, for once he’s punctual,” Master Taika mumbled as she let Misako pick the phone up, putting it on speaker so the others could be a part of the conversation. “Okay Garmadon, anything new for us this week? It’s been two weeks after all, I expect something good.”

“Yes and no, it’s, well it’s one big thing,” he was obviously agitated by everything. “But, now don’t freak out when I say this,” he paused, probably for dramatic effect, “Arcturus is coming here tonight.”

“WHAT?!” Chaos ensued amongst the other masters as they seemed to be prepared to mobilize right there. 

“HEY! I said don’t freak out! Don’t send anybody down here, got it!?” Garmadon snapped.

Misako couldn’t believe what she was hearing from her own boyfriend. “What are you on their side now or something? Did Chen actually convert you? Is he listening now?” She covered her mouth when she thought of that.

“NO! I… there is a plan! I swear. If you come here now, you’re going to have five armies in chaos and you won’t be able to finish this in an easy manner.” He swallowed, starting to feel a bit nervous. “I’m giving them the hideout’s location at the foot of the Wailing Alps and the one at the old quarry.” 

“Oh my gosh he’s defected!! That’s treason!!” Another master shouted. 

“My gosh are you not even listening to what he’s saying!?” Yet another shouted in response. “I agree if we take Arcturus out now, the armies’ moves with all be too unpredictable!” 

“HANG ON!!” Rose shouted, getting them all to shut up. “Kasai and Wu are making the run to pick up the flutes from Masters Hiroshi and Katia to give to Mystake. Getting them enchanted will only take them a day at most! We can lie in wait and attack whatever-” 

“No, I need this to look real, like, actually surrender the bases.” Garmadon clarified. 

“Okay he’s defected.” Rose stopped defending him now. “If I could, I would strangle you through this phone you idiot!! We’ve been friends for years and you’re just gonna-” 

“Shut up and listen! If I was a traitor, I wouldn’t be telling you guys this now would I!?” He made a strong point. “You don’t have to sacrifice everyone, or anyone for that matter. Just have a few masters at both outposts and just let them take it. They don’t have to get captured or hurt, they just have to make it look like they’re putting up a fight and escape.”

“Let them think they’re winning,” Misako quietly said to herself, seeming to agree with the idea. 

The others exchanged looks after he suggested this idea. “Well, those two bases are nearly useless to us anyways. We only have two lower ranking elementals at each and a handful of civilian soldiers to help because there’s almost never any action in those parts. They were only used for recon.” Tanaka thought aloud, seeing how it would work out. “I say we comply.”

“THANK YOU TANA!” Garmadon was very grateful for his ice master friend.

“And what will happen after that?” Taika asked Garmadon. “Is this going to fit into the final stand endgame we have?”

“Yes and no,” Garmadon answered. “Why have a final stand against all five armies? Why not do it by clan or region and break up the battles?” There was silence as they all considered this idea and how it would work out, sure it might extend their idea of the war, but it could prove to be easier. “I know it’s not the short and sweet, one last glorious fight method my father proposed, but I think it’s worth a shot, ya’know?”

“I say we do it,” Raven nodded. 

“It’s not that risky of a plan and the reward might be quite high as Garmadon can continue running double agent for us.” Neuro agreed. “Plus, if they catch onto the fact we have these flutes after we seal one clan up, we will be dealing with less of them anyways so we still benefit. Again, Garmadon can just plead ignorance to what we had going on.”

Taika had her arms folded tightly across her chest and she thought about it. “I’d hate to go against the master’s idea, but he hasn’t left the monastery in months for meetings let alone almost never contributing to the frontlines! I’m on board with your plan young man.” She smiled a bit, “give them the two outpost locations. I’ll alert the people there what’s going on so they won’t be taken too off guard and we’ll move on from there.” 

Garmadon breathed in relief when he heard the others agree and accept the idea. “Awesome, thanks so much for the vote of confidence.”

“Of course, so anything else you have to report in?”

“No ma’am, but I will contact you sooner than next Tuesday if I absolutely have to,” he replied to the older fire master. 

Taika got to her feet, “Okay everyone, we have work to do.” She gestured for the others to follow. “Someone check in with Hiroshi to see if Kas and Wu left his place yet!”

“I’ll be right there,” Misako called over, taking the phone off speaker. 

“Wait, Wu’s not there? Shoot, I wanted to talk to him,” Garmadon sighed when he heard that.

“He’ll be back by tomorrow I’m sure.” Misako told him, getting quiet now. “Why are you so fixed on staying over there? I thought you wanted to come home as soon as you could.” 

Garmadon was surprised by her accusing tone of voice. “What’re you talking about it? I’m helping! You heard them; I actually had a great idea that everyone liked… that was partially helped along by Jessica of course.” He mumbled the afterthought. 

“Jessica?”

“Chen’s amber master servant girl, I told you about her.”

“Right…” She raised an eyebrow when she heard that. “Anyways, there’s something more to it, I know you well enough Garm. Why do you care so much all of a sudden? You liked it when we were strike team and didn’t care about higher ups and planning and all of that! Is this to just spite your dad? Has that Chen guy really gotten to your head or are you trying to tell me you have some newfound sense of devotion to a cause?”

“Okay,” he sighed, “I won’t lie, I like having more freedom here, having a teacher that allows me to do anything it takes to win, it’s a nice change, the town is pretty nice… but,” he paused, “I do want to make sure I do everything in my power to make sure this guy REALLY pays in the end.”

“You make it sound so personal,” Misako frowned, starting to worry about it. “I know he’s gotten a lot of people hurt and killed, but we’ve busted a couple turncoats and a double agent without you getting so invested in making sure they “pay”-” 

“He was the one that directly hired out Sigan.” He lowered his voice now. “He’s the reason the bastard showed up that day and tossed you down those damn stairs when trying to kill my dad.” She was silent. “I found all the contract papers and correspondence a week ago now that I was in and had access to them. I just want to be here when his little war crime empire comes toppling down right on him.”

Misako couldn’t find any words for some reason. “Is that why you took this job without telling me?” Now she wanted Chen to burn even more now that she knew this. He didn’t have anything to say. “And you didn’t tell me!!?”

“You were hurting a lot as it was, and I wasn’t a hundred percent sure it was this guy or Arcturus directly. I almost found no evidence since Jess said they burn most stuff not long after a job is carried out, but I guess they kept some record. All the dates matched up too.”

His girlfriend wiped her eyes tiredly, definitely changing her tune now. “Extort that guy for all he’s worth, we’ll take care of the Serpentine on this end. Please be careful. I don’t need to lose you too to these people.”

“I’ll be fine.” He replied. “I’ll come visit soon, I promise.” He said before they said their goodbyes and hung up. “Everything will be fine.” He told himself. 

 

*****

 

Master Hiroshi’s House, Meridian Province, April 1984

Kasai looked over one of the flutes, admiring the instruments while Wu started packing the other seventeen up in the bag. “They’re beautiful Katia,” he looked at the older woman, enamored by the handiwork. 

“Thank you Kas, that’s very sweet of you to say,” she smiled. “Be careful with them now, they were very hard to make, especially at such short notice.” She explained. “Make sure you say hello to Mystake for me, she’s an old friend.” 

“Will do ma’am,” the young fire master smiled. 

“So my boy, when are you planning on coming back to finish your training? You were my finest and most promising student you know.” Hiroshi came in. 

As they talked, Wu took the last flute from Kasai, pulling the bag over his shoulder. “I hate to break up the reunion for you, but we have to get going now. We don’t wanna waste anymore time.”

The other ninja looked disappointed, but knew the blond was right. “Okay, sorry guys,” he looked back to his former master and his wife. “I promise though, I will be back to take you up on that offer when the war is over,” he hugged the older couple. “I promise this will be over soon now that we have these!”

 

It was mainly quiet between the two as they walked back towards the city together; actually, throughout the whole trip they were pretty quiet.

Wu readjusted his hold on the bag, looking over to Kasai, thinking of something to break the silence. “So were you serious? You’re gonna go back to being a blacksmith?”

The other looked surprised he said something, but shrugged, “Yeah,” he nodded. “I always planned to when I had to return when news of the war broke out. And if I wanna own my own shop, I should go back and make sure I’m good enough. I wanna be the best!” He then blushed a bit, “I can’t have Namiko being the only money maker in the family, you know?”

“Right, yeah, is she still gunning for being a nurse?” the blond asked next, it was sad when he realized he hadn’t had an actual conversation like with his old friend in a very long time, and they’ve been living under the same rood for years! 

“Of course, but we were talking the other night and, well,” he shoved his hands in his pants pockets. “As soon as this is over, we’re also moving to the valley together. I’m gonna have my own shop and she wants to be a part of this little startup hospital down there Ninjago City Is helping to fund.”

“Oh wow, really?”

Kasai nodded, “Yeah, It’s a half hour drive to Ninjago City from there and most people in Ignacia and the surrounding areas don’t have cars because it’s mainly farm land with dirt roads, so it would take even longer to get there so a couple of doctors have been working on getting their own hospital. It’ll be a couple of years, but it’s kind of exciting.”

“Good for you then, it won’t be the same without you guys though,” Wu admitted. He knew Garmadon and Misako were talking about leaving and now Kasai and Namiko were planning on the same? No doubt Edna and Rose would be leaving altogether soon too if they were really going to get married as well, and Tanaka would surely leave at some point too. “Guess it’ll just be me and Sayu then at the monastery when this is all over… At least there’s always holidays right?” He awkwardly chuckled. 

The fire ninja nodded a bit, “Yeah, I guess.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Listen Wu, don’t act so surprised. You kinda pushed everyone away.” That was not a very good thing to say and he immediately regretted bringing it up. 

“Are you kidding me?!” Wu stopped walking. “Are you really blaming me for all of this!? I didn’t ask to get bit by that stupid snake that ruined my life and messed with my head for years! Do you know how hard it is to repress all of that? Even right now I’m trying so hard not to be like that again!” 

Kasai slouched, sighing, “Listen, I get it, but you literally locked me out. I was your best friend!”

“Yet somehow Garmadon and Sayu, now Misako got through somehow. If they didn’t try so damn hard to help me, I would be way worse off. You gave up on me almost right away! Plus you tried to get my brother to give up. I’m glad they didn’t!”

“Oh really? Well maybe I didn’t wanna risk getting attacked for being a minor annoyance to you!” Kasai stopped and turned to face the other now. “Masuta always gave you a free pass for being a jerk!” 

“He wants to keep locked up half the time because I’m a disgrace to him or something! Of course he’d give me a pass; he wanted to make sure I depended on him.” Wu’s hands balled up into fists. “It wasn’t because he really favored me, trust me! He doesn’t; I’m just another black spot on his legacy!” He looked like he was tearing up as he turned away. 

Kasai hung his head, already exhausted by the argument. “I don’t wanna argue about this now Wu. I just want to get these flutes over to this lady and go back home. Can we do that?”

The other folded his arms, lowering his head. “Yeah, whatever,” he shoved past the fire master, walking ahead of him. “I won’t talk to you anymore if that’s how you really feel about me.”

“Oh come on, you don’t have to do-”

Wu spun around again. “You made it VERY clear you don’t want to even try and salvage our friendship, so why bother associating with each other unless we absolutely have to?” He turned back around and walked on. 

Kasai slowly followed without another word, maybe Wu was right and he wasn’t exactly the best friend he could have been. Wu was trying hard to change and be better and here he was accusing him of doing everything on purpose to him. The more he thought about, the worse he felt. Wu never once attacked him or even Namiko… or anybody else for that matter, just Garmadon. 

If the one that took the brunt of the situation could forgive him and move past it all, maybe he should too, it wasn’t like he wasn’t trying to be a better friend and person.

He looked at the back of Wu’s head, trying to catch up with him. “So when are you Sayu getting married?”

Wu looked, surprised to hear him speak again and he hesitated before answering. “She wants to get married in the spring… maybe next year if things get better.” he mumbled. 

“Well, she’s a really good fit for you,” Kasai nodded, “So are you guys gonna name a kid after me?” He looked over.

“Are you and Namiko going to name a kid after me?” Wu flatly asked back. 

“Touche.”

It wasn’t much of an exchange, but it was still a start, maybe things could be mended after all.


	15. Chapter 14

Camp of the Elementals, Hikari, May 1984

“They took the bait, way to make it look good Master Turner, that means Garmadon might get to finally start pushing them in the right direction towards the first planned ambush,” Misako looked over a report as she talked to one of the masters who came back. 

“I’m happy to have helped with that then,” the older man smiled as they talked about the report. “So what is the first ambush going to be exactly?”

Misako frowned, opening her own book to a map, pointing to the mountain range. “Well here, just east of Jumonokai, about ten miles out from Ignacia Valley, there’s a perfect, totally sealed cave system made out of pure ice that has only one way in or out. And it’s perpetually frozen solid so snakes can’t burrow through, and even if they managed to break through the ice, they couldn’t without causing an avalanche and killing themselves.” 

“And who are you planning to entrap in there?”

“Hypnobrai. Those pesky things should be one of the easiest to subdue since they always rely on hypnotism.” Misako frowned. “Plus the ice that coats the walls in the caves are highly reflective, maybe they’ll just hypnotize themselves,” she chuckled at the idea. 

“I imagine that’d be quite humorous to see.” Turner chuckled as he started heading out of the tent. “I certainly look forward to that battle. They haven’t caught me yet you know.”

Misako reached into her shoulder bag, stopping him, “Before you leave, I just remembered, here,” she handed him one of the Serpentine charming flutes. “One member from each element gets one, you were chosen for the speed clan.”

He smiled, taking the instrument and bowing, “Thank you, it would be an honor to have this,” he looked it over. “That reminds me, isn’t Garmadon coming back soon? I heard Taika talking about it the other day.”

Misako blushed a bit, “Yeah, it’s only for two days though, shame he won’t make it to the meeting later. He managed to convince Chen he was going to try and pick up some new information for him and Arcturus while he’s here. He’s coming tomorrow last he told me.”

“Well it’ll be good to see him again, hard to believe that troublemaker kid turned out to be such a clever young man. Perhaps you rubbed off on him,” Turner complimented the younger masters as he started leaving again. “I’ll see you at the meeting Miss ‘Sako.” He waved.

The younger woman looked at her watch. “Masuta wanted me home by three, I better get going,” she said to herself as she grabbed her scrolls and headed back up the mountain. “I wonder what he wanted.”

 

*****

 

“Hey guys, I’m back,” Misako loudly said as she slid the door shut. “Don’t forget we have a meeting tonight at seven where the rest of the flutes will be passed out.” She heard some of her friends in the kitchen. Sayu, Tanaka, Wu, and Edna were all in there, talking. “Hey, did you guys hear me?”

“Sorry Misako, Tanaka just said Garmadon’s coming back!?” Edna lit up. “You didn’t tell any of us!” 

“For two days,” she corrected. “Don’t get your hopes up. Though, if we get started on Serpentine lock up plan, this might all be over by summer.” That was the dream alright, shame things were moving so slowly right now, every time the snakes went silent, the masters would grow more anxious. “So anyone know what Masuta wanted me home for?”

Before anyone could answer at all, they heard a loud banging on the gates outside. Misako and Wu went to investigate to find a familiar face behind the said gates. 

“Hey!”

“Garmadon!” Misako lit up when she saw him, lunging into a hug before Wu could even move. “You’re early!” She smiled wider. “Not that I’m complaining of course…”

“Well, I wanted to surprise you,” the taller ninja wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her up to eyelevel with him. “Were you surprised?”

“YES!” She kissed him happily. “There’s so much we have to talk about! First off, tonight there’s going to be a-” Garmadon cleared his throat, interrupting her as he nodded his head back discreetly as he could. “Huh?” 

She looked past her fiancé’s head to see he was not alone. How did she miss him? 

“Clouse.”

“Misako.”

“Huh?” Wu blinked. 

“My roommate at the dojo.” Garmadon set Misako down, putting an arm around her shoulder. “He’s worse than you if you could believe it.” He gestured for Clouse to follow him through the gates. “Chen wanted him to get out of Mapleburg for a few days and I thought it’d be cool to show him what the monastery’s like.” He smirked, looking back at the shorter student with him. “Maybe I could teach you a few more things,” he crackled his knuckles. 

“I’ll pass,” Clouse frowned, holding his hand up.

“Well, that’s fine; we have Anthony’s old room he can stay in!” Wu suggested the idea, remembering the vacant place and feeling a little sad again over that short chapter of their lives. 

“I’d hate to impose-”

“Nonsense, it’ll be great, I mean, if you can get past everyone else, we’re all a bit… well, loud.” Misako laughed. 

“Aaaaw shit! Garm’s back!” They heard Edna shout as she ran down the steps. “Hey big guy!” She hugged Garmadon next. “Man, you got my hopes up, but you’re only staying until Wednesday!? No fair! When are you coming back for good!?”

Garmadon patted her head, chuckling again, “Well Eddie, maybe by September, Chen’s given me a great opportunity and I’d hate to waste it by leaving so early.”

“Boooo, I thought you liked us!” Edna continued to tease him.

The others in the house came out to greet him as well. They all knew they’d now have to be careful around Clouse to not give away Garmadon was still playing double agent for them. Surely Clouse was forced to be brought along to make sure of this; they’d also have to pretend Chen was still trusted by the masters.

“I was wondering what all the commotion out here was.” They all turned to see Masuta had come out as well, leaning on his staff for support. “Then again, I knew you’d be coming early… and you have a guest with you?” He looked to Clouse as well. 

“Chen’s other student,” Garmadon nodded. 

“Clouse, of course, any friend of my son’s is always-”

“We’re not friends,” Clouse snapped, irritated that the old man would assume that. “We’re just forced to live together is all. I didn’t even opt to come here in the first.”

“Regardless, we all welcome you.” Masuta still held a smile, though it faded when he looked to his oldest son. “The meeting is being moved to tomorrow night by the way. I plan on attending and would like you to as well, however I’m not well enough for tonight.”

“I’ll send word out then to change it,” Sayu hurried to leave, “It’s so good to see you again Garmadon, I’ll see you later when I get back and we can catch up.” She smiled. “Nice to meet you as well, Clouse!” She cheerily added, disappearing down the steps. 

Masuta then looked to Tanaka, “If you wouldn’t mind, can you show our guest to his room?” 

The ice master nodded and gestured for Clouse to follow him. “It’s just this way. Sorry to say it’ll be rather small though, it’s the only single bed room we have.”

“Well come on!” Edna started pulling on Garmadon’s arm when the other two left. “Kas, Nami, and Rose are coming back soon, we’re gonna see how good you’ve gotten and have a battle royal! All of us against you!!”

“One sec!” Garmadon laughed as she tried to move him. “Can I relax for a little bit? I walked all the way up the steps less than five minutes ago!” She finally released his arm and frowned, upset. “Wu, can we talk actually?” He then turned to the younger sibling. 

“Uh, sure,” Wu responded. 

The two sat in the younger’s room, they had plenty to catch up on; it was a while since they audibly talked to one another. All there had been were a few letter exchanges over the months, but for the most part they didn’t have a whole lot of contact. 

“So how’ve things been going around here?” Garmadon looked around the room, noticing a new picture on the dresser of him and Sayu together. He smiled a bit when he saw it. 

“Same old routine, not a lot of battles surprisingly, but I’m sure you know the reason for that, right?” Wu laid back on his bed.

Garmadon chuckled, also laying back, “Well, you know I can’t talk about that while Clouse is here, don’t wanna risk him eavesdropping on us and ruining everything.” He stared at the ceiling, internally groaning over the fact he had to go back in two days. When it came down to it, he did miss this old place just a little bit. “So, you’re getting married?”

Wu seemed surprised as he quickly sat up, his face reddened a bit. “So you did get my letter… I was kind of hoping it got lost in the mail.”

“Why?” The older laughed as he also sat up, looking back at the blond. “I mean, I just figured it’d be better to talk about it when I got back, face to face.” He leaned against the wall, amused by his embarrassed younger sibling. “It’s nothing to be shy about, you’re not the only engaged here.”

“It’s whatever,” Wu quickly said, but he sighed, pulling his knees to his chest. “I guess I’m just nervous about it. Sayu’s sisters weren’t exactly all that nice to me when I went to the funeral and forget about when she told them we were engaged… they refused to talk to me!”

Garmadon scoffed when he heard that. “Sylvia and Saachi are Grade A bitches Wu, you can’t take anything they do or say personally.” He explained, “They’re both these snobby socialites that live in Astor City and are married to a wealthy doctor and lawyer; they don’t like any of the elemental masters, or at least anyone they deem below them in general. Probably jealous they didn’t get the wind powers like Sayu did.”

Wu looked over to his brother, “Do you really think so? Are you sure it’s not just me?”

“Positive.”

“Well I appreciate that, but it’s still going to bother me,” Wu covered his face. “Not to mention I also have to think about the wedding next year. I can see why you wanted to elope with Misako, it would be so much easier.”

“If I’m getting a standard wedding, so are you brother,” Garmadon laughed, poking him in the side of the head. “Maybe we can have a double wedding! Or a triple and throw in Kas and Namiko! It’ll be fun!” 

“I’d rather not…”

“It’s only a joke Wu. Everyone knows I’m getting married before you for sure. I’ve been engaged the longest!”

The blond scoffed, “Uh-huh, well, I heard you didn’t even make a formal proposal until your little getaway last year before you went undercover.” 

“Misako and I have been planning this wedding since we were seventeen! It’s still longer than you!” 

“Boys, boys! You’re both pretty and have AMAZING fiancées that love you,” they heard Misako say from the other side of the door. “Now keep it down, I’m trying to finish up some work I had to do!”

 

*****

 

It was weird to be back in the camp, but everyone in the higher ranks welcomed Garmadon back home with much enthusiasm, hard to believe they used to be terrified when he and his friends came around.

“It’s so good to see you again!” Raven punched him in the shoulder, laughing. “How’s living with Chen? Is the dude really that much of a creep as I’ve heard?” 

“Pretty much,” Garmadon chuckled. “Shame I have to go back there for who knows how long!”

“Order!” Everyone turned to see Masuta sitting at the middle chair of the high council’s table, banging his staff against the table. “Please take your seats so this meeting can begin please! We have much to discuss tonight!”

The masters started shuffling around to find open space on the benches in the big tent, Misako sitting up with the others, gesturing for her fiancé to join her.

“Since when am I allowed up here?” he joked as he climbed the step. 

“You’re the eyes and ears on the other side; of course you get special privilege of being up here with the important people.” She kissed his cheek and sat down. “Now shh,” she looked back to Masuta who began speaking again. 

“As you know, we have crafted eighteen very special flutes, one for a representative of each clan to charm the snakes during ambushes to designated areas. These will put them into a hypnotic trance we will use to lead them into marked out tombs. We only have passed out a handful already, so before we continue, Masters Adam and Venus of Water and Toxins will distribute the rest.” 

The ginger haired water master looked at the list as the green skinned woman grabbed the bag, walking around the table as the names began being called out. 

 

Fire: Kasai Blackman  
Ice: Tanaka Fujiyoka  
Lightning: Edna Grey  
Earth: Rose Greenwell  
Water: Namiko Atin   
Toxins: Idena Yamada  
Metal: Vladamir Alloy  
Sound: Jacob Sonus  
Nature: Bolobo   
Speed: James Turner   
Form: Lila Jones   
Shadow: Raven Nightshade  
Light: Shen Inviz  
Smoke: Andrew Sanchez  
Wind: Sayu Fukawa  
Mind: Neuro Nahdeer  
Creation: Wu  
Destruction: Garmadon

 

“Wait, what about amber? Or time? Those are also elements I though,” Garmadon blinked when he heard the list. “Why is he counting mine and Wu’s inherited elements when only our specific bloodline can have them?”

Misako leaned over discreetly to explain. “Well Jessica just wants to be a spy and doesn’t want to get involved… as for time, well, you of all people know we don’t have any of those in the ranks since it’s not a natural born power.” She folded her hands together tightly. 

“Right, of course,” he nodded, placing a hand over hers. “Listen, as soon as we take down Chen, I’m going to use all the information he has to track down Sigan, and well, I’ll let you take him out.”

“Thanks,” she sat back, leaning against his side, watching as the other masters were given their flutes. “I hope this works.”

“Me too,” he kissed her temple. 

“Alright,” Masuta stood when the instruments were given. “Starting in the coming weeks, we will begin the process to weed the tribes out. Thanks to my oldest son and our newest spy at Chen’s dojo, the plan has already begun implementing.”

“Other spy?” a few of the masters looked confused as they all started murmuring. 

“It seems I was wrong in assuming there were no more masters of amber, the daughter of an old friend, Jessica, is servant girl to Chen,” Masuta quickly explained. “Moving on, Garmadon has an in with Chen and perhaps even the mystery General Arcturus we have yet to see. Misako has started devising a timeline for everything so I will let her have the stage now.”

The young woman perked up when he said that, getting to her feet and opening her journal. “Yes, well,” she adjusted her glasses. “Right now, the most brazen of the bunch seems to be the Hypnobrai army followed by the Fangpyre. It would make sense; they’re quite cowardly as they hide behind their hypnotism powers and Fangpyre are the smallest of the tribes, but can be dangerous if they bite you.”

She glanced down at her small map. “Focusing on the Hypnbrai for now, we found a way around the problem with facing them, many of the masters the flutes were given to have experience with fighting blind… in Jacob’s case, he actually is blind,” she looked back to see the smaller master in question. “But, upon investigation, in the mountain range, we had come across a unique cave that would be big enough for the remaining members of the army to be sealed in.”

“The cave of mirrors, yes, I remember that,” Masuta nodded. 

“As I’ve stated before, the ice is so thick they’d kill themselves trying to burrow out.” She smirked a bit, “This would obviously be the best choice for a test run on the flutes too since the cave is so close to our base of operations here.”

The other masters talked amongst themselves for a minute. “How are we going to draw them out for the flute players to charm them though? They always show up wherever they please and we have to fight them on their terms!”

“Jessica and I will be Chen’s dojo influencing all the decisions as best we can.” Garmadon stood up next to explain. “We both will be manipulating the information and hopefully convince Arcturus to attack exactly where we will be set up to wait for them.”

The others seemed to accept that answer and fell silent, allowing the others to carrying on with the briefing.

“As for the rest of the snakes, we have also decided on the other four locations,” Misako continued, “We have the old graveyard from The Stone War just outside the Ignacia Valley; the catacombs below there have collapsed years ago so it’s just one huge pure stone cavern. The Toxic Bogs are home to a sinkhole that was covered up and the ground is so rich in the toxins that Venomari’s acid spit won’t melt through anything. The Mount of A Million Steps has an inescapable cavern who’s entrance is at the top, and then the Sea of Sand has another old tomb that will buried after two good sand storms and lost to time.”

“We can work out the details with them later, but the Hypnobrai is a great start to the plan. Fangpyre are always close behind them though so perhaps we can charm two snakes with the same flute.” Masuta complimented Misako and chuckled at his own joke. “Now, we have to make sure they don’t find out about the flutes right away; that means you have to keep those flutes secret in case any Serpentine get away from us, no one outside this tent can know.”

After the meeting, as the others started leaving to head back to their posts or to send word to the other masters across the continent, the older of the masters that were chosen as the flute holders held back to talk with Masuta about concerns they all had. 

“Really? Wu gets one? How do we know he’ll use it for the right reasons and he won’t make them attack us?”

Garmadon looked over at the group, frowning at them all and quite glad Wu and Sayu had already left for the monastery. “He’s not like that, why would he turn on us now if he didn’t before? My brother’s still fighting for our side you know. He would gladly show you all you’re wrong, but no one wants to ever take him on missions. He brought the flutes back for goodness sake.” 

“Still, it’s not right, Masuta should have one, better yet, forget about the creation element, Wu’s flute should go to that nice girl at Chen’s dojo, she deserves it more than Wu does!”

The brunette folded his arms, annoyed with the stupid accusations they always made. “Can’t you all see Wu’s different now? He wants to help but you people don’t let him. Like it or not, he’s an elemental master, just like the rest of us.”

They all looked to Masuta who shrugged. “What can I say? Garmadon has practically taken the words out of my mouth.”

As the masters walked away, reluctantly accepting that answer, Misako’s eyebrows rose and Garmadon looked at his father in disbelief. “You actually… took my side?”

The old master looked to Misako who decided to leave the tent as well, seeing he obviously wanted to speak to Garmadon alone. “Son,” he started with a short sigh. “I’m dying, you know it, I know it, they all will know it soon enough,” he gripped his staff tighter as he said that. “Someone in the bloodline has to keep watch over the monastery… and the weapons of course.”

Garmadon took a step back, shaking his head, knowing where this was going. “No way, you’re not going to treat me like shit my whole life and give me this, because I don’t want it!”

“Son-”

“NOPE!” he shouted again. “As soon as this war is over, I’m taking Misako and we’re getting out of here and starting a family like we always said we’d do! Let Wu and Sayu protect the weapons and the monastery; they like it there! You’re not going to die and force me to clean up your problems!”

Masuta’s gaze hardened, “I’m quite afraid you won’t have a choice in the matter. Wu cannot be trusted with such a task; we both know he will eventually be consumed by the darkness and use those weapons to tear this country apart. Then you will certainly have a mess to clean up.”

“Your magic smoke shit doesn’t know everything! You can’t possibly know if Wu will give in and turn on us!” Garmadon’s hands clenched into fists, “Maybe I do like it at Chen’s after all!” He stormed past him. “All you care about are those stupid weapons! Not Wu, not me or any of the people we care about! Misako! We’re going home!” He shouted as he exited.

 

*****

 

“Oh you’re back,” Clouse looked up from the TV as he saw Garmadon come in first, but stormed right past where he was sat, Misako running after him. “It went well then I see.”

“No, his dad’s just being a dick to him, nothing new there though!” Kasai stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “You didn’t miss much, boring meeting as usual, they just droned on and on about setting up more defenses around Ninjago City.” He joked, also heading for his room. 

“Alright alright, everyone get to bed, you know the rules, no meeting talk with anyone not enlisted!” Masuta came in next, shooing them all away. “Mr. Blackman you also might want to watch what you say when you’re in my house.”

“Uh, yes sir!” The fire ninja hurried into his room next to escape any possible punishment. 

Clouse covered his mouth as he almost let a laugh out at the reaction. “They’re actually afraid of you, how amusing,” he got up to go to bed as well. 

“You know Clouse,” Masuta stopped him. “You don’t need Chen to find your full potential with your powers. I know you don’t have an element, but an elemental master could very easily help you; possibly even do more for you than what Chen is offering.”

He stopped for a minute, almost appearing to be considering the idea. “No thanks, I don’t want your help with anything. I’ve seen one of your finest pieces of work up close; I really don’t need someone like you teaching me anything. I hate the guy, but I at least get why he wanted to come stay at Master Chen’s, even if it meant putting up with me.”

Before turning to his room, he could hear his fellow student loudly talking, frustrated by the sound of things, he kept walking. 

 

“He’s trying anything to keep me tied to this stupid place,” Garmadon through his pillow across the room. “He didn’t even raise me like his own son and now he thinks he can rely on me to do what he says!?” 

Misako shook her head and went to pick up the thrown pillow. “I know, it sucks, he’s very detached from reality, but the point is he doesn’t have that much time left.” She sat down on the bed, caressing his cheek. “He can’t make you do anything you don’t wanna do though, remember that. If he’s leaving you this place, you can easily give to Wu if you want.”

“He just pisses me off!” Garmadon removed her hand from his face, quickly lacing his fingers between hers. “They all do, the old masters are such superstitious stiffs who’ll eat shit if my dad told them it was good for them.”

Misako chuckled, laying down next to the brunette, hands still together. “Oh come on, I think you’ll make a great sensei! Then they’ll all have to listen to you!” 

“It should be Wu that gets to inherit everything.” He rolled over onto his back. “He’s the master of creation, even if he’s bitten by a cursed snake. As far as I know, I’m the first and only master of destruction. Who would want a great leader with the power to break anything?”

“What would it matter? You’re still the son of a god, you’re strong, maybe not the “all knowing, super wise” type, but you’d still make a great leader in my opinion.”

“But I don’t WANT to be a leader at all.” Garmadon sighed. “I don’t think you understand. All my life I was told I was too out of control, it was pounded into my head to restrain myself at all times. You’d think I was the one that got bitten from how he treated me.”

Misako laid on her back too, she knew a life as a sensei and keeper of the golden weapons was never in the cards. She wouldn’t have minded if he did want to stay and settle, but they had too many plans to go back on now that they were so close to ending the war. 

When he had said about being a master of destruction, she couldn’t help but remember back to the day Sigan had attacked them. 

“Your father…” she slowly started. “He’s… a master of creation, right? Like Wu?”

“Yep, keeper of the Golden Dragon Energy or whatever the hell that was. I don’t really care to be honest,” He closed his eyes. 

“Alright, well, then how come I saw him use black energy to defend himself when Sigan attacked us?” That got his attention as he opened one eye to look at her. “I saw, Sigan’s arm got ripped up and even some of the skin looked grazed by it, the sleeves was shredded up.

“You must have been mistaken-”

“Garmadon,” Misako looked at him, narrowing her eyes. “You even said he’s always hiding things, what if he also has destruction powers? In fact, what if he wasn’t even the first being? What if he’s lied about who he really is?”

“I hate him, and he’s a terrible father, but I’m not going to start making up conspiracies about something like that Koko,” he rolled his eyes. “Just forget about it okay?”

“Fine,” she sighed as he cuddled her closer. “I hate that you have to go back.” She mumbled into his shoulder.

“I don’t wanna either, trust me,” he nuzzled her. “I’ll be back home by the fall, I promise. Just make sure you guys do your part.” 

“I will. Just come home to me in one piece…”


	16. Chapter 15

Chen’s Dojo, Mapleburg, July 1984

“What do you MEAN Slitheraa AND Fangtom have both gone silent!!? How do you lose track of the ENTIRE Hypnobrai and Fangpyre Armies!? You had last contact with both of them!! Where were they before they vanished!?”

Garmadon and Clouse scooted their chairs back from the table when they saw how enraged Arcturus looked as he yelled at Chen more. They had both heard Anacondrai could completely unhinge their jaws and swallow a whole grown man and they sure didn’t feel like finding out if that was true.

“I’m telling you I know nothing about it!! They both went to outposts around the Ignacia valley to pick off the water masters that were stationed there and I haven’t heard back from Fangtom in almost a week!” Chen explained, surprisingly not afraid of the purple serpent. “None of the info brokers know anything about it either! They just poof! Gone!” 

The general jabbed a claw at the man’s chest, narrowing his pink eyes. “Then I suggest you find out what the hell is going on here before I make an example out of you to all of our allies.” Arcturus threatened. “If I find out you’re double crossing me Chen, you will regret it.”

Jessica flinched a bit and looked past the two arguing to Garmadon, clearly concerned. Though, it would be a lie if she said she didn’t like the idea of Arcturus ripping him to shreds. They would have to be careful though if the general already was catching on to their little plan. 

 

*****

 

Camp of the Elementals, Hikari, July 1984

The camp was bustling with masters running in and out of the high council’s tent, everyone checking off maps and plotting the next step in the lock up operation. Needless to say, they all had their hands full as they wanted to move on to the next part. 

Misako was on the phone as she marked off the next attack plan on her map. “Okay, you let me know as soon as you make contact with him.” She stood up, switching the phone in to her other hand. “Yeah, I don’t want any more phone calls between us, it’ll look fishy if he’s always running out and it’ll be easier to have a direct link to the both of them mentally instead. Let’s just hope they don’t have a rogue mind master sticking around to pick up on it. Okay Neuro, tell him it’s the Venomari next. Yeah; at the bogs.”

She hung the phone up as Taika was walking in. “So what idea do you have this time?” she looked at the circled places on the map. “An excellent choice for them.” She looked up. “Alright! Venomari at the Toxic Bogs! Tell me, how are we going to lure them to there of all places?”

“There’s a port town housing refugees and other masters not far from there that I’m sure we can use to our advantage,” Venus came over. “You let the sound and mind masters handle the Hypnobrai and the Metal and Light masters had Fangpyre, let the Toxin and Form masters have Venomari,” she hissed with delight. “I have a really good idea if you put in charge of this one.”

Taika looked over to Misako who shrugged. “Hey, by all means, let her have this one, she’s been itching to command a fight for a while now.” She looked over to Venus, “May I also recommend the nature masters? I have a feeling they’ll be very useful in a bog with a lot of vegetation around.”

“I’ll take that suggestion with pleasure Misako,” the toxin master took the map. “I’ll get Idena, Lila, and Bolobo to come with us. Maybe Jacob too because he won’t be affected by the Venomari spit!”

After she ran off, Taika took a seat, looking exhausted from all the running around and organizing they had to do. “I’m so happy you’re a part of this council now dear. Really, I commend you for stepping up and arranging everything like this. I’m tempted to give up my seat to you.”

“We all have to do our part if we want to win this,” Misako started rolling up scrolls, thinking for a minute. “When it comes to the Constricti, I would very much like it if I went with the team.” 

“This wouldn’t have to do with your cousin’s father would it? Master Cole?” old fire master raised an eyebrow.

“A little bit, but I do think I’ll be of great help. I am also an earth master in case you forgot,” she reminded her with a smile. “It’s been a while since I was in a good fight too and I almost miss it.”

The older woman chuckled. “You sound more like a fire master sometimes with that spitfire attitude, but of course you can go when the time comes. I think it’s safe to say earth masters would be useful to have.”

 

*****

 

Jessica was sat on Garmadon’s bed as Chen and Clouse were in another meeting with one of the information brokers called in to investigate their missing Serpentine problem. The amber master watched as he sat cross-legged, eyes closed, probably talking with Neuro still. 

Finally he opened his eyes and looked back to her. “Toxic Bogs.”

She nodded and opened the small map he had in his room. “For the Venomari I take it,” she frowned. “They say anything else? You were quiet for a while there. I thought you fell asleep,” she joked.

“Yeah,” he pointed to a small town on the map. “Master Venus of toxins is heading this one up. There’s a port town right near the bogs that’s housing refugees and is exporting supplies to the base of operations and the outposts in the southern area.” 

“So, you’re next suggestion is to attack this port town,” she said out loud. “I don’t think it’ll be that suspicious. I mean, that last time you suggested the Ignacia Valley and two tribes went missing, maybe I should suggest it.” She looked down at the map, concerned.

“Arcturus doesn’t always like you sitting in and suggesting stuff, especially now, I wouldn’t make him even more pissed,” Garmadon said. “It’ll be fine; they can’t possibly tie it to me. I haven’t left the dojo property in days.”

“It’ll be best to lay low after this one though.” Jessica warned him. “Don’t get too greedy and want to take them all out at once.” She lowered her voice more when she heard a door slam down the hall. 

Garmadon shrugged and pulled the flute out of the bag. “When in doubt, we can always book it and use this to keep Arcturus and his guards from following us back to the base.”

The amber master shook her head and pushed it back in the bag, “Let’s hope it DOESN’T come to that please. I appreciate your enthusiasm to hurry this along, but I mean, be careful with this. Even if you get busted before the Anacondrai can be locked away, they’re still the strongest of all the snakes. It only takes a handful to overpower an elemental master.”

“I know, I know, I won’t make it too obvious at the next meeting.” He sat back. “And they’ll have to send Venomari because the rocky ground is too hard for the Constricti to burrow through so it all works out.”

“In theory so far,” she got up, folding the map up. 

“Yeah, well, maybe I’ll hold off suggestion that for a few more days.” Garmadon mumbled, thinking Jessica’s warning over.

She smiled, happy he wasn’t going to jump right into it. “I’m going to get started on dinner before they’re done in there. Any requests?”

“Sashimi.”

“Cute; are you going to go to the store for me to get it in time?” she smirked. 

“Nah, udon’s fine.”

“That’s what I thought,” she chuckled. “You know, for the first time in a very long while, I can practically taste that freedom. I’m glad they sent you here Garmadon.” 

Garmadon smiled, “well, if it wasn’t for you, this plan to infiltrate the place would have gone way slower.”

 

*****

 

Andella Town, South West Coast of Ninjago, July 1984

The sun was shining as the hot wind blew through the seemingly desert port town. Kasai and Namiko were both seated on top of a small building near the edge of Andella, a pair of binoculars to share to keep look out while the others prepared for a fight.

“How do we know they’re even coming? We still haven’t heard back from Garmadon and it’s been another week!” Kasai grumbled as he looked around, thinking he spotted the very edge of the Toxic Bogs in the far off distance. 

Namiko shrugged, “Well, the Constrictai attacked the eastern side of Ignacia during their search for General Fangtom’s men so I have a feeling he’s playing the waiting game to deter suspicion. Last he told Neuro, Arcturus accused Chen of setting him up.” The both knew that it wouldn’t take much to conclude that it was Garmadon who was their mole.

“Still, Masuta made us come all the way out here just to bake in this heat while the others get to stay inside and out of the sun,” the fire ninja flopped on his back. “I’m dying Namikoooooo!” He whined. He opened one eye when she got up, seeming to ignore him. “NAMIIIIIIIII” he whined louder this time, pulling on her pant leg. 

“SHUT UP!” She snapped at him, kicking his hand away, fixated on something. “Hey, go get Master Venus,” she kept her binoculars up.

Kasai took the hint and jumped to his feet, running downstairs to find the toxin master. “Hey, Nami thinks she sees something!” He shouted when saw another master. 

“Already guys; get Venus and get ready for a fight!” A purple clothed master looked to the others. “And make sure all of the townspeople are in the warehouses and boats by the docks for safety! Form masters, with me! We must prepare to infiltrate.” He ran out of the house first. 

“What about us!?” Kasai watched them leave. “And they’re gone.” He sighed, going back up to the top. “They’re mobilizing now.”

“Good,” Namiko sat under the small canopy up top. “Now hang back, Lila told me she and the other form masters are going to shape shift into Venomari warriors and sneak their way into the group. We don’t wanna accidentally take out our own people.”

Kasai sat next to her, resting his head on her shoulder. “You know, why haven’t we used the form masters to do that before? It would be pretty easy when you think about it. Lila could just start playing her flute and then the rest of us could just jump on out and play with her and bam, entire snake army gone.”

Namiko looked him, surprised he came up with that all on his own. “Impressive idea, but the only reason this works with the Venomari and not the other two tribes is because the Venomari are the biggest army out of all five, they would be less noticed. Fangpyre had only a hundred or so left and Hypnobrai were only a little more than that.”

“Ah.”

“Here they come,” she got down more, pulling her boyfriend with her. “Alright, remember, don’t reveal the flutes yet, we want them all in the town to make sure none get away and tell Artcurus that we have them.”

“Okay,” Kasai squeaked, hoping they would get spotted up there. 

In total, there were seven masters there that had a flute; Venus, Lila, Bolobo, Kasai, Namiko, Jacob, and Neuro, it would surely be loud enough to cover the whole army and if not, well they would have a fight on their hands since the whole army would have to be locked up at the same time. 

 

*****

 

“Okay, stay hidden; wait until you see the signal,” Venus looked around at the others masters with her. “There’re only fifty-six masters and about five hundred of them if our estimates were correct.” She continued, “In total there are nineteen present toxin masters, twelve form, eight nature, five lightning, four mind, six water, and a fire and sound master each.”

“I think we have a shot,” Neuro awkwardly smiled, knowing those were very terrible odds. “Plus we have seven flutes! It’s probably more than enough! Right?” 

Venus shook her head and poked one eye around the corner. “Weapons ready men,” she whispered, poised to strike. “Don’t move until you see the signal from Lila.

“I’m starting to wish Shen came with us,” Neuro swallowed, crouching to the ground, not wanting to be seen in the alleyway they hid in. “It would be easier to stay hidden with him around.”

The green skinned woman rolled her eyes. “Well, you’re a mind master, just, mind trick them into not seeing us! Stop relying on Shen to bail you out.” She gripped her chigiriki handle tightly as they heard the hissing grow louder and louder around them, trying to not get impatient.

They had to be well into town by now, Venus glanced over to Neuro again, crouching too. “Tell everyone to start setting the perimeter up, but still hold until the smoke signal.” He nodded, seeming to comply. “I want Kas and Namiko to the west side, Bolobo to the south end, you and Jacob to the eastern side, and Lila and I will handle the rest from here.”

“Are you kidding!? Jacob’s like, three blocks that way! Why am I here with you!?” Neuro rolled his head back but she glared at him more. “Fine, I’ll meet up with him!” He grumbled; scaling the small building they were hiding behind.

Not long after he had left, a loud pop went off and a red smoke flare went off in the sky. “Move! Everyone!” She shouted as loud as she could so they all could hear. 

 

*****

 

Kasai sat up when he saw the smoke. “Alright! Some action! FINALLY!” Without hesitation, the fire master jumped from the roof of the building into a crowd of Venomari that looked plain confused as to what was happening. 

Namiko sighed as she looked down at him, creating a fiery red-orange twister that sent a group of the snakes flying. “I can’t believe I’m marrying that man…” She shook her head, grabbing her fans and jumping down to join him. “Remember, green smoke is for playing the flutes.” She reminded him as she spun and kicked a scout right between the eyes. “Don’t lose it!” 

He nodded, quickly dodging the flying green venom. “Ack!” He bumped into her. “I’ve made a mistake jumping down here!”

“I would agree with that!” She smiled. “Remember, the plan is to push them all into the town’s center so there’s nowhere for them to go!” 

“Got it!” He slashed another green snake, blazing through the crowd with his Spinjitsu tornado.

“KAS! WE have to stay on this end!” She shouted after him, ducking another swing from the Venomari soldier. “Alright asshole- shit!” She yelped as she got sprayed in the face with venom. “KAAAS!” She screamed again, but it didn’t seem like he heard her. 

She knew she was surrounded now, but her vision was so warped, she didn’t know just how many she was up against. “This stuff is so trippy what the hell?” Namiko blinked several times, still no use, she’d have to just wait till it died out. “Kind of wish I took Tanaka up on his blind fighting technique lessons.”

She swung her sharpened fans around, attempting to slash another soldier. She could hear the snakes laugh at her feeble attempts though, seeming to more amused instead of taking advantage of this opportunity to kill another elemental.

“KASAI!” She shouted again, frustrated every time one of them moved. “ACK!” She yelped again as one came from behind and shoved her to the ground, thinking it was all over. 

She felt a wave of heat pass by her face. “You didn’t think I’d leave you for dead! Did you?”

“I hate you so much!!” Namiko pushed herself up, shouting at him. 

“Over here sweetie,” he chuckled. “Now guys, stop bullying my girl, you’re gonna regret it severely, I promise that.” He pointed his katana at a soldier, igniting it in red hot flames. “Stay down Namiko, until you’re not tripping on that venom stuff anymore I mean.”

“Thanks,” she crawled out of his way and to safety as best she could, relieved he was actually smart enough to hear her and come back over. 

 

*****

 

Chen’s Dojo, Mapleburg, July 1984

Garmadon and Jessica both had an ear pressed to the door as Arcturus had sent a messenger to the dojo, which probably meant it was not good news for him. They had been in there a while and not even Clouse was allowed inside.

“Think the Andella ambush went well?” Jessica whispered, looking up at the brunette. 

“Sounds like it did. I haven’t gotten contact from anyone, so I don’t know for sure.” Garmadon whispered back, trying to listen harder, catching the voice of the messenger. 

“Just remember that my master does not take these failures lightly and is very disappointed in you as of late. Find out what’s going on here, OR ELSE.”

The two spies shuffled quickly around the corner, just in time for the purple serpent to exit the door and leave, Chen following a moment later. 

“Chen, darling, what’s going on?” Jessica straightened up as she walked around the corner, pretending to be concerned, though on the inside she was laughing with glee, happy that she would soon be rid of him! “Why was one of Arcturus’ men here?” He didn’t look like he was in the mood to talk though as he pushed past her without another word.

“Hmm,” she watched him leave, actually concerned now something was indeed wrong.

Garmadon walked out. “He knows something’s up around here. Chen only acts dumb around us.” He saw Chen walk out back to talk to Clouse.

“I told you it was a mistake to direct their attention to Andella town for the masters.” She shook her head, getting stressed out again as she ran her hands through her hair. In her experience, every time he went to talk to Clouse alone, it was never good. 

“I didn’t tell them they should attack the place, all I said was that there was going to be a shipment to the home base and it could leave them vulnerable there.” Garmadon pointed out. “I can always make up that they must have told me a lie and I didn’t know about it.”

“It won’t matter. We’re going to get caught soon, I know it.” She started to look scared now when she saw Clouse look through the window at them.

“We can take them.” Garmadon chuckled. 

“I mean, you’re probably right,” she shakily said. “But I’ll never be at rest until I see him apprehended.”

“It’ll be okay,” he put a hand on her shoulder. “Even if we get busted and have to run, three of the five tribes are sealed away. That’s still something.”

“I guess so… I have to lie down,” she looked sick suddenly. 

Garmadon decided it was best to just go to his room and come up with a backup plan and hope one of the mind masters would contact him.

 

*****

 

Camp of the Elementals, Hikari, July 1984

“So what was it like!? I’ve never gotten sprayed with venom before!” Rose asked the water ninja as she was getting patched up for all the cuts she had gotten while getting pushed around by the Venomari soldiers.

“Well, let’s just say I never want it to happen ever again,” she rubbed her eyes. “It made me sick to look at anything, and my eyeballs felt like they were on fire.”

“And then I swooped in and totally saved her ass like a knight in shining armor,” Kasai bragged, ruffling her hair. 

“Fascinating,” Tanaka nodded. “Did you end up helping them put the snakes in the tomb?”

“No,” Namiko mumbled. “The other water masters took care of me and forced me to stay put while this one jerkwad took my flute and did my job for me.” She glared when she saw the master in question walk by the tent. “Like, that’s MY flute! It was MY job to help put the snakes away!” 

Misako looked up from her scroll, rolling it shut, “We’re all just glad you’re safe Nami, you could have been killed out there. I think you should sit the Constrictai battle out.” She suggested. 

Namiko looked so defeated now. “You all think I’m some helpless little girl! Don’t you!?” They all looked away awkwardly. “Seriously guys!? This was just one time! Kasai’s always the one to get knocked out and you still let him fight in all the big important battles!” She accused her boyfriend. 

“It’s true, I fail you guys constantly,” Kasai nodded in agreement. 

“Both of you are going to sit this out actually,” Misako corrected herself. “Only Rosie and I are going to the Mountain of a Million Steps.” She stood up.

“Um, no!?” Namiko looked pissed now. 

Misako adjusted her glasses. “You’re still recovering and the council agreed that earth, shadow, and metal masters only on this one. We’re the only ones with enough strength to pierce their hides and escape their grasp if they catch someone.”

The couple looked to Rose and Tanaka who both looked away from them, clearly not going to argue against Misako’s decision. 

“I have to make sure someone gave the report to Garmadon and make sure he’s doing okay at Chen’s.” The smaller woman left the tent.


	17. Chapter 16

Chen’s Dojo, Mapleburg, August 1984

 

“So, as you all know, the elemental masters seem to have some kind of trick up their sleeves now that they’re keeping hidden from me.” Chen walked around the table slowly. Garmadon knew this was like some kind of sit down to surely reveal a traitor in their group. The silly part is that it’s obvious that it would have to be Garmadon. The only other people in the room was Chen, Clouse, Jessica, and two other servants that also served as Chen’s spies. 

The young master sat as still as he could and tried to keep a neutral face, but he was sweating under his robes. “They always are hiding things you know.” He managed to say in a calm tone. 

“Well I was kind of hoping you could help me out with that one Garmadon dear.” Chen stopped across from him. “Tell me, you’ve been reluctant to tell me EVERYTHING you know, haven’t you?”

The brunette leaned on his armrest, trying to look relaxed and be his usual, cocky self. “Listen, why would they tell me anything that’s been going on with them? My own father considers me almost like a traitor to him since I decided to leave his teachings.”

“Uh-huh,” Clouse rolled his eyes. “Just spill you’re the mole already. It’s obvious it has to be you! No one else in this room could possibly be!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Garmadon sat up more, trying to play his agitation off as annoyance. “Really Clouse, you hate me so much you’re making shit up to tell Chen to score brownie points, how cute.”

“Can I beat him up? Please?” The black magic user’s hands glowed as he asked for permission.

“I’m not sure yet,” Chen frowned. “Regardless, we’ll know if it was one of you or another of our agents soon enough. I have a very special man coming by soon to help us with our little… situation.” He glanced to the two clothed in black that sat in silence, watching on.

On cue, there was a knock at the front door. Jessica hurried out of the room to get the door, the tension was so thick you could suffocate from the stares.

“Oh look, he’s already here, how fortunate for me!” Chen smiled when the mystery man came through the door. Garmadon perked up when he saw the familiar red hat. “How are you Ronin? It’s been a while since you were last here!” 

“Well, funds are low.” Garmadon just stared at the man, eyes wide as he heard the voice. “Hey future brother in-law; so the rumors are true and you also turned on my sis. She seems to have that affect on people.”

The brunette’s hands clenched into fists, “So it was true that you’d go to the highest bidder.”

“Well, when Misako blew up and me and banned from the camp, I had to turn to someone to afford rent,” Ronin shrugged. “I gotta make a living too and Chen was willing to pay triple for my services.”

“Hey, whatever; I don’t really care what you do,” Garmadon sat stiffly. Ronin was the wielder of the Obsidian Glaive, he could use his mind manipulation tactics to the fullest force now; of course Chen would get him to weed the mole out fast. 

“I was unaware two knew each other,” Chen raised an eyebrow, seeming concerned suddenly.

“He’s engaged to my estranged sister, we hardly know each other,” Ronin folded his arms.

Garmadon suddenly got an idea. “Wow, that’s so hurtful Roro.” He smiled, “We’ve known each other since we were kids! Misako and I always had to pull him out of trouble you see. We even trained together for a short while before he ran off. Couldn’t take the pressure of being a disciplined elemental master I think.”

Chen and Clouse looked to the bounty hunter, surprised by this. 

“Shut up, you kicked my ass all the time!” 

“In sparring matches! It’s not like I beat you up outside of that. That was Misako’s job.” 

“ENOUGH!” Clouse stood up, looking to Garmadon. “He’s here because he can determine what you know and who you’ve spoken to!”

“Probe away,” Garmadon winked. 

“Why are you winking?” Ronin realized something was up and was annoyed by the other’s silly games. 

“Come on, you gotta keep the act up after all.” Garmadon chuckled.

“Act?” Chen and Clouse asked. 

Garmadon chuckled, “Of course,” he looked back to Ronin, “That was a really good lie, you’re only here because Misako kicked you out; they really had no reason to suspect you.”

Chen sat down, hands folded together as he listened, intrigued by this new “information”. Lucky for Garmadon, he could be very charming when he tried. “So you’re saying he’s been sneaking information about the whereabouts of the snakes?”

“I guess so. It’s not your fault for trusting him though Master Chen, he’s a mind master after all, he can cloud anybody’s judgment, even someone as sharp as you.” He cringed inside as he said that, but flattery was the way to win Chen over so he had to lay it on.

“I’m not the one on trial here!” Ronin growled. “Stop lying!!” 

“Well, with this alleged information, I’m afraid you might be.” Chen drummed his fingers on the table, looking over to the other two spies. “What do you guys think about this? You’re kinda neutral here.”

The taller looked to the shorter. “In our experience, you’d have to put them up to some kind of test of loyalty.”

“Test?” Garmadon and Ronin looked over at the two. What could that possibly mean? 

“I quite like that idea now that you suggested it,” Chen chuckled, leaning on his elbow. “How about this; Ronin,” he looked to the bounty hunter, “I want you to find out what secret these masters are using to make these snakes disappear. I want irrefutable evidence to present to Arcturus; he’s been up my ass about this for a month now…”

“Piece of cake,” he folded his arms. “I can do it within the week.”

Chen then looked to Garmadon, smirking wider. “Garmadon, you’re going to do something that you should have no problem doing at all if you’ve been truthful with me the whole time you’ve been here.”

The young master glanced at Ronin who also smirked back; he probably had read Chen’s mind and knew what was going to be asked of him. 

“Garmadon, I want you to kill your father.”

 

*****

 

Mount of Impossible Heights, Hikari, August 1984

 

“You know, I get that Misako is the smart one and she’s a “general” now and all that crap, but like, it feels like she keeps getting more and more impulsive since Garmadon’s been gone.” Sayu tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, looking down at the countertop as she wiped it off.

“I guess, I never noticed until you just mentioned it to be honest.” Wu blinked. “I’m sure she’ll be fine when things return to normal. She’s in a bit of a hot seat and the whole council keeps looking to her to pull out some kind of miracle each time we plan a battle.”

“Well, I’m worried in case something bad happens, she’ll be the one who starts flying head first into trouble.” Sayu turned to her fiancé. 

He held her hands, “Stop worrying so much. I’ve known her practically my whole life; she’ll be okay on this next mission, Rose and Raven will keep her in check for us.”

“You’re right,” the wind master nodded. “I also feel bad though; everybody’s been so useful and risked their lives, what have I done? Defended Hikari and Jumonokai once; was made to be an assistant to Misako at camp, and playing messenger for your father.” She slouched. 

Wu hugged her tightly, “Don’t say that. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be a lot worse off,” they brushed foreheads. “You’re important to me.”

“You’re important to me too,” she smiled back. 

Wu had looked past her though to see his father walking by, towards the front door. “Dad? Where are you going?” The two broke apart to watch him.

Masuta stopped and looked back at his son and soon to be daughter in-law. “Oh, no where that important, Wu,” he continued on. “I just have something that I have to personally take care of. Don’t wait up for me.”

“Okay?” The couple looked at each other, concerned at first, but it was probably a boring meeting with Taika about the next ambush.

“Why do I get the feeling he won’t be coming back?” Sayu gripped Wu’s hand tighter. 

The blond watch his father leave through the window, frowning. Whatever was going on, Masuta wouldn’t tell him no matter what. “I’ll be back later,” he kissed her forehead and went to grab his jacket before heading out the door.

 

*****

 

Garmadon paled. 

“You want me to-”

“Kill your father yes, those are exactly the words I said,” Chen continued to smile. “I mean, you’ve told me about what a terrible man he is, holding you back from your true potential, disapproving of your soon to be marriage, your first child and how he didn’t even try to protect your girl when trouble came; sounds to me like he’s the type of guy that would be better off dead. Not to mention being a stiff and controlling tormentor of children.”

Clouse cut in, reminding them of the bigger picture. “Not mention, with him gone, the masters will be in disarray and we can move in and make up for any lost time with the other three missing armies.” 

While everyone was distracted by the tense conversation, Jessica looked at Garmadon sympathetically; there was nothing she could do to help her friend out of this situation. If he didn’t do this, their cover would be blown and he would get overpowered easily by the five other men in the room. There was no excuse that he could give. 

He glanced at her for a second, he had to say something in response. “Well, if that’s all you need me to do…”

“Yes, really, that’s all.” Chen laughed. “How about this evening? Find him and just take care of him! You don’t have to do it in front of the other masters; they don’t even have to know if you don’t want them to for the sake of playing to our side. I just want the elementals in chaos.”

Ronin chuckled, “I mean, he’s a master of destruction; the only one mind you, this will be a piece of cake for him. Let’s all watch tonight!”

“A splendid idea, Clouse, go make some fresh popcorn.” Chen got up, excited now.

Everyone got up, leaving Garmadon to sit and think about what this all meant. The council told him that he would have to get as much information from Chen as he could, no matter the cost. Well, it seemed that cost was going to be pretty high today. 

“Am I really going to do this? No, I can’t possibly kill my own father…” he thought to himself. His heart was in his head as he thought more and more about confronting him. “Did he ever give me a reason to be loyal to him other than he’s my father?”

Now came the second guessing. All of sudden, he had a list a mile long of perfectly valid reasons he had to end his father’s life. 

He was an ancient being, selfish, and cold. He mistreated his own children and made his followers and students do his dirty work and clean up all his messes. He foresaw terrible things and didn’t bother to tell anyone about them until the damage had already been done… he probably even lied about a lot of things throughout his long life.

Garmadon slowly stood up, looking at his hands as he let himself get more pissed off, thinking about his crying fiancée as she mourned for their lost daughter. “I’m going to kill him.”

 

*****

 

Wu sighed as he watched his father from a distance. Masuta was just sitting in a clearing in the forest by himself as the sky turned darker and the stars came out. He had been like this for hours and his youngest son couldn’t even begin to comprehend why, just about ready to get up and go back home, until he saw what happened next. 

Masuta lifted his head when they both saw a figure coming through the trees. Wu’s eyes widened as he was surprised to see Garmadon had shown up… with a weapon. 

“Ah, I was wondering when you’d get here.” Masuta slowly stood up, using his staff for support. “I see things are going well for you at Chen’s.”

“Shut up.” Garmadon sternly replied. “I figured you’d be waiting here, you always seem to just know things,” he looked around the clearing, wondering if he had brought anyone along. “You must know exactly why I’m here then.”

“Naturally,” he father smiled. He saw Garmadon take notice he didn’t have any weapon on him, just his staff. “I want you to know that I accept my fate. Come on,” he actually sounded sincere.

Garmadon stepped closer as Wu watched the exchange further, still confused as he tried to listen, but their conversation got quieter and he just wasn’t close enough to hear it in full. 

Masuta looked behind his oldest. “Listen,” he kept his voice low. “I won’t hold it over your head and haunt you after this is over. This was a long time coming and I understand that.”

“Can you ever just say something straightforward for once in your damn life?!” Garmadon pulled out his katana. He was shaking though and his father did take notice of this.

“You never trembled before.” The old man commented. “You’re going to make a fine replacement for me you know,” the older man chuckled. “You really are a lot like me-”

“I am NOTHING like you,” Garmadon clenched his teeth. 

“You know son, a very long time ago, when you and your brother were still very young, I had a vision relating to my death,” Masuta slowly stepped. “I foresaw my son being my downfall. It was the morning before Wu was bitten.” He sighed. “Naturally, I thought it was him, or whoever was going to get bit by the snake, but I only just recently realized it was you this whole time. You always had that darkness buried in your soul; I tried to repress that in both you boys.”

Wu held his breath, catching that part. Did his father know he was there? 

“I always kept Wu close, hoping that I would make him entirely dependent on me so that he wouldn’t try and turn on me… maybe he was originally intended to end me, who knows, but I made a new demon in you by doing all of this.”

“Finally you recognize what an ass you’ve been to me my entire life.” Garmadon sarcastically laughed. “Are you even capable of love? Did you love us? Did you even love mom?”

His father sighed, stroking his short beard. “Garmadon, I know exactly why you’re doing this, and I know it’s not personal. I trained you to carry out plans no matter the cost from a young age and by letting you go to Chen’s he helped to further solidify that.” He entirely ignored the question! “Like I said, I set this up for myself; it’s ironic to say the least. Let’s not let sentiment get in the way here.”

“Oh shut up,” Garmadon shook his head. “Stop thinking you’re the center of the universe. I’ve thought about doing this plenty of times, but now, maybe I just have the right push to do it. We don’t need you, none of the masters need some “symbol” of false hope you gave them. You paraded around for centuries, pretending to be some kind god of creation… but you’re not, are you? You’ve destroyed everything about mine and Wu’s lives.”

The old master chuckled again. “Misako told you about the Sigan tussle in full I see. I was kind of hoping she’d forget about that part due to her trauma…” he mumbled to himself more.

“You told me I was the only master of destruction, but I had to get that power from somewhere now didn’t I?” Garmadon lifted the katana blade again, trying to look threatening. To his father, he looked like a little boy playing pretend probably. 

“Yes Garmadon, you cracked the case.” Masuta pulled out what looked to be a key on a leather strap from his robes, handing it to his son. “You have a job to carry out so I can’t exactly explain it in full right now. You know what chest that goes to I believe. It has all the answers you could ever want to know about me and this world.”

The younger ninja swiped it, shoving it in his pocket. “After everything, that’s all you have to say to me while I have you at death’s door?”

“Garmadon, I’ve been at death’s door for a long time now.” Masuta sighed. “To be honest, I’m rather glad you decided to take this test of loyalty to Chen. I didn’t have much time left anyway.” Garmadon readjusted his hold on the katana, looking like he was going to hesitate. “Don’t think this changes anything; I still leave everything to you. You’ll make a fine sensei, perhaps finer than me-”

“I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR LEGACY! Don’t you get it!?” Garmadon started shaking more. “I never will be like you! You ruined everyone’s lives from the minute you made this stupid place and you never bothered to get off your ass to help people! I had to be the good son that did that for you!”

“Well, I suppose you can fix the rest of my mistakes, starting right here and now.”

Garmadon grimaced when he heard that and took one last look at his father before he swung.

Wu clapped a hand over his mouth; he couldn’t look away, even if he tried. He wanted to scream, but he knew he couldn’t out of fear he’d be next. He ducked behind a tree, leaning against his, hands were numb, his vision fuzzy as he tried to comprehend what happened. “What just happened?!” He thought. “Did dad let him kill him?! Did he plan this!?”

His brother was in a different kind of state of shock. He just stared down at his father, gripping the blood splattered sword till his knuckles turned bright white. His whole body felt numb as his knees locked to keep him standing. 

The sound of slow clapping came from behind him as Chen stepped out first. “Well well well, I had my doubts since it looked like it was taking you a while, but look at you.” He turned to Clouse. “Check for a pulse, can never be too sure, you know?” He chuckled, folding his arms. “How do you feel?”

Garmadon blinked, his mind clearing again as he loosened his grip on the sword. Why should he feel bad for what he did? For almost thirty years he was treated like a game piece instead of a son. Sure he would have liked it better if his father had fought back at the very least, but in his own opinion, it felt like a haze had been cleared from the world.

“He’s definitely gone,” Clouse stood up, pulling his gloves off. “Where do you want the body to be found?”

“Hikari square. Let this be a message to the masters that the great Serpentine Army does not take the disappearance and slaughter of their people lightly. Maybe leave some kind of calling card from Arcturus while you’re at it.” Chen turned around, leaving. “Speaking of him, Arcturus is coming back in two days; Ronin, I want that proof. Garmadon proved himself tonight, now it’s time for you to put all that money where your mouth is.”

Clouse sighed as he looked at the tall man’s body. “Why was I cursed with such height,” he mumbled to himself. “You two freaks; get over here and help me!” He snapped at the black clothed figures who looked to Chen. 

“Oh do as he says, he’s still my number two,” the older man rolled his eyes and they both shuffled to help.

“Reconvene at the dojo by the time the meeting with Arcturus will take place.” Chen ordered. “I also want a report on the elementals’ reactions to finding their precious leader dead.”

“Yes sir,” the men all said.

As soon as they all cleared out, Wu raced back to the monastery. He was so conflicted. He was the witness that could really get Garmadon in trouble for this. Sure he didn’t like his father either, but to kill him? Was that stepping over the line?

As he ran back he only thought of one thing, “When the masters see him tomorrow, I can’t tell them it was Garmadon. No one can know about this.”

 

*****

 

Misako jumped out of her skin when she pulled back the tent flap to go back home. Garmadon was standing in the entrance, silent. “Garm-?”

She could barely get his whole name out as he wrapped his arms around her tightly and abruptly, shaking and pushing her back into the tent. She pulled back, concerned as she felt his heart beat fast as he shook more. 

“Honey? What’s going on?” She managed to pry his arms off her, holding his face. “What happened? What are you doing here? Did they find out you were the spy-?”

“Koko,” he held her face now. Something really was wrong, he looked like he was about to cry. The last time she saw him cry over anything was during the miscarriage. “I… I did something...”

Her green eyes widened when she noticed the tiniest bit of blood on his white sleeve trim. She sat him down, taking a seat beside him. “You can tell me anything.”

“Dad’s gone.” She frowned when he said that since that could have meant several different things. “He’s dead.” He further elaborated when she looked confused. 

“We all knew he was going to go soon-”

“You don’t understand… I killed him.”

There was dead silence in the tent. She looked doubtful, but the fear in his eyes contradicted that thought. “W-When did this happen!?” she wiped her forehead, starting to sweat a bit. Was she dreaming or something or did her fiancée, her best friend, admit to murder?

“An hour ago maybe? I-I don’t remember actually… I was wandering around the forest after Clouse the assassins carried him off,” he covered his face as he stuttered and tripped over his words. “I don’t know how to feel to be honest. I wish he just died on his own… but no!”

He glanced at her. Misako was definitely more of the moral compass between the two of them, but she wasn’t yelling at him or anything. She looked back over to him, taking his hand gently. “He was a horrible person.”

“But am I horrible for killing him?”

She frowned, thinking that one over. “Well, why did you kill him?”

“A lot of reasons,” he sighed. “Pent up rage from twenty plus years of mental abuse, frustration, having to keep my cover for Chen.”

“What!?”

“Ugh,” he sat back, further pissing himself off just thinking about it. “Ronin showed up today. They were going to expose me as the mole and I put reasonable doubt that he was the one that was undercover for you. You didn’t tell me you banned him from the camp. That was the only reason he was being employed!”

Misako looked away, starting to feel bad. “I was upset, it wasn’t long after we lost the baby and he just pisses me off so much.” She admitted. “I suppose I was kind of wrong to ban him altogether and should have just told him I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, he’s definitely working for Chen now. So, it ended up being that he wanted us to prove his loyalty to him and the cause and well, he told me that I would just have to kill my father. Ronin is tasked with finding out how you guys locked the snakes up so easily.”

“And you have a flute in your own backpack at the dojo…” Misako covered her mouth. 

Garmadon covered his face again, “If anyone finds out what I did, I’m going to be hung for sure and if Chen finds the flute, my cover might be blown anyways.”

“Then they won’t find out, none of them will.” She held his hand. “Besides, even if Chen tries to blackmail you with that information, he’s a sleazy liar, why would they ever have reason to believe him since he’s been a traitor this whole time? Masuta may have raised us, but that doesn’t excuse him for all the terrible things he’s done over the many years. He was dying anyways.”

“I think what bothered me the most was, well, he kept egging me on, he didn’t put up a fight. He just kept saying shit to make me angry so I would kill him,” he went on. 

“Then how can you blame yourself if he wanted you to kill him?” Misako reasoned. “Especially if he provoked you.”

“Because he said that he saw that one of his sons was going to kill him. He thought it was Wu, that’s why he babied him for so long. He said only recently did he realize I was the “demon” that was going to do it.” He then pulled out the key. “He gave me this, said that it would have all the answers I could ever want to know.”

His girlfriend frowned, taking the key from him. “The chest in the library has the same logo on it.” She looked back to Garmadon. “When are you supposed to go back to the dojo?”

“The day after tomorrow, Arcturus is holding another meeting.” 

“So my brother might be snooping around to find out our secret flutes.” She took her glasses off, wiping them vigorously as she thought. There so much to take in, she didn’t know where to begin. “When the other masters find out about Masuta tomorrow, they’ll all be in a crazed frenzy and Ronin could slip by our defenses without a problem.” 

“That’s what I thought.”

“Well come on, we can talk more back home while we look through that chest in the library.” She stood up, taking his hand again. 

Home; what an odd word it was. It was just the place they were raised; it was hardly a home to anyone but Masuta…

Oh that’s right. “He, um, left everything to me.” She looked back at him. “That was the last thing he said before I,” he trailed off. 

She gave a half-hearted, sad smile as she placed a hand on his face. “We can deal with that later. Right now, we have to make sure Chen doesn’t get our secrets.” Misako pulled him along.


	18. Chapter 17

Mount of Impossible Heights, Hikari, August 1984

Misako quietly opened the door, looking around and prompting Garmadon to follow. Everyone in the monastery was either asleep or not home so, thankfully, there would be no ruckus when the others saw Garmadon would be there. 

The couple locked the library door behind them after they quietly slipped down the hallway. Misako identified the chest they were looking for right away, hidden under several scroll casings. 

“Here,” she prompted him to put the key in it. As expected, it opened when turned. 

It was mainly books, journals probably, and a few smaller boxes. “I figured he probably kept a diary of sorts,” Garmadon pulled one out, blowing dust off of it. “This one dates back to almost three thousand years ago… damn, I forget sometimes how old he really was.” 

That caught Misako’s attention as she quickly swiped the book from his hands. “That doesn’t make any sense, The Stone War was around seventeen hundred years ago and it took place not too long after Ninjago was made, when the Overlord was born from the darkness and created his stone army.” Her green eyes quickly started scanning it. 

“Wait, what’s that writing? I’ve never seen that before.” Garmadon frowned when he noticed most of the characters were not your standard. 

His fiancée blinked, looking back, half weirded out, half excited. “This is… the language of the dragons.”

“Excuse me? Since when do dragons write? We saw them as kids, they have huge claws!” Garmadon laughed. 

“I always had a “multiple dimensions” theory,” she trailed off, turning a few more pages. “Never did I think it was actually true though.”

“Wait, you mean like, other, alternate dimensions?”

“Not alternate, that’s different. It’s long and complicated, I won’t bore you with that, basically, you know like, how we would get in and out of the Underworld? There were several gateways in special locations?” Misako asked. He nodded. “Well, there was always a theory that it was a second realm that was kind of like, this pocket dimension attached to Ninjago since everything is very different.”

“Okay?”

“Gosh, you’re dense,” Misako shook her head. “Your father wasn’t some wandering being on an astral plain. He existed outside of Ninjago in another realm if what I’m reading is correct. Ever find it weird how Dragons come and go and are so elusive!?”

“My gods, dad really wasn’t all that human then… which means, I’m… oh gosh,” there was a sudden, very awkward realization. “Shit, this is getting freaking weird now, please don’t tell me anymore about your dumb theories!”

“Thankfully you’re definitely more human than not if it is really true. Masuta could have merely been a controller of dragons,” Misako chuckled. “Look, it’ll take time to translate all of this so we can know for sure what your father’s trying to show you, there’s a lot to go through. Right now, we should stay focused on my brother NOT finding out about the flutes.” She closed the book, fitting it back in the chest. 

“I guess you’re right.” Garmadon sighed, still feeling anxious over this entire evening. It was a lot to take in. His father let his own son kill him, and now they find a little more about what the old man’s past could have been. “So what are we gonna do? You’re the smart one.”

Her shoulders slouched as she frowned, trying to come up with an idea. “Well,” she took her glasses off, “what if we gave him a flute?” As soon as Garmadon opened his mouth to probably call her crazy, she cut him off, “But a fake one.” He shut his mouth again.

“Well, it’s not that bad of an idea, definitely plausible since Ronin won’t even know what to look for.” He scratched the back of his head. “It kind of makes sense. We can just give him any ol flute and trick him into thinking it’s one of the charmer flutes.” He thought about it. “But it’ll have to be one that looks similar to the enchanted ones.”

“It’ll certainly make Ronin look bad in front of the general and maybe he’ll finally realize he’s dealing with the devil here.” Misako folded her arms. “I have no doubt you can really help sell this with your “amazing” acting skills.”

Garmadon jokingly took offense. “Well it’s won my favor before with many people.” He looked back to the chest. “I still can’t believe he’s just, well, gone. I always said, for years that I’d be happy when he finally kicked the bucket.” He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. “I guess I never expected to be the one to do it. How are we going to keep the masters calm? I’m in such deep shit.”

Misako took his hands. “Only you and I know about this, and we’re going to keep it that way. No one will believe a word from Chen’s mouth, all the masters respect and like you a lot now. Even if they somehow do accept you killed him, Masuta was dying anyways, they just need to learn to stand on their own and take destiny into our own hands.”

He looked down at their hands, and sighed again, nodding his head. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Come on,” she got up. “Let’s go to bed for now, you’ve had a hard night. We’ll wake up before dawn to work on the bait and switch for my brother.”

 

*****

 

“Your father wasn’t some wandering being on an astral plain. He existed outside of Ninjago in another realm if what I’m reading is correct. Ever find it weird how Dragons come and go and are so elusive!?”  
Wu flinched when he heard Misako say that. “No way,” he pressed his ear to the door again, trying to listen in more on their conversation, but he was so distracted by what he saw before. He didn’t want the other masters to know, but at the same time, should they? Why should he care if their father was killed? Garmadon took the brunt of the abuse; maybe he had every right to kill him.

His hearing became muffled more as this little voice in the back of his head started speaking. “Come on, once you turn your brother in for murder of their great leader, you’ll be the fan favorite. You’re wasting this opportunity.”

Wu shook his head quickly. It had been a long time since he had any kind of thought like that. “I can’t do that; he’s still the one that got us this far in the fight against the snakes. If we turn him in, we might lose everything. Not only that, he’s my brother, he was there for me when I thought I was a goner.”

Before he knew it, he heard the shuffling of feet again and the lock begin to turn, so he quickly scrambled to get to bed before they could see him listening in. 

“Wu?” His head jerked to look at his bed as he tried to shut the door quickly and quietly. Sayu pushed herself up on her elbows, wiping her eyes. “It’s late, where were you?”

“Nowhere,” he mumbled, taking his robes off to change. “Sorry if I worried you,” he apologized. “I just had to deal with something.”

He could see her smile in the dim light. “I’m just glad you’re okay. So where did you father run off to?” the wind master yawned, turning on her side to better face him. The blond could feel his heart beat faster again. “You’re breathing has increased.” She said suddenly. Of course she could probably sense that! 

“Huh?” Wu tried to not look panicked. “It’s nothing Yuyu,” he brushed her off. 

“Are you sure?” She sat up now, looking genuinely concerned. “Wu, you can tell me anything, you know that.”

The tired ninja shook his head, plopping on the bed and wrapping his arms tightly around her. “Please, I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Finally, Sayu wrapped her arms around her fiancé, looking up at him, concerned. “Wu, did he say something mean to you again?”

“I said I don’t wanna talk about it!” He hissed. He felt her squeak as his nails involuntarily dug into her back when he tensed up, but it retracted quickly. “I- can’t,” he ran a hand through her long, black hair, shaking. 

She seemed to get the picture and rubbed his back. “Okay, I won’t push it, but I am still here for you.”

“Thank you,” he breathed in relief. After another moment of silence, he spoke up again. “I don’t wanna wait until next spring to get married Sayu,” he mumbled. 

“Huh? Why not?” She pulled away, confused at the sudden change of topic.

He shrugged a bit. “I just don’t; life’s short. As soon as this is all over, I want to marry you and get away from the monastery for a little while.” 

She chuckled a bit, “Where would we go?”

He nuzzled the side of her neck. “Anywhere but here.”

“Well how can I argue with such an idea?” she cuddled closer. “You’re good man Wu; I just wish you would see that in yourself for once.” She yawned.

Sayu fell right back to sleep, Wu on the other hand, well, he knew he was in for a long night. 

 

*****

 

“Here!” Garmadon held up a flute that looked similar to the ones they all used. “Thank goodness my father kept this old flute Hiroshi made him decades ago. Once a pack rat, always a pack rat.” He showed it to Misako for approval. 

She nodded, looking it over. “It’s close enough in the case he gets to see another one. It’s still Hiroshi’s handiwork, just without the enchantments on it to charm Serpentine.” She handed it back to the taller ninja who stowed it in his back for now. “Come on, let’s get to camp before anything happens and we miss our chance to get this to my brother.”

By the time they got to town, there was already a crowd, which meant that they may have arrived just in time. The couple jogged over to where the older masters were convened, some even weeping and others in greater hysteria. 

“Garmadon!” One of them shouted. Instinctively, it made the darker clothed ninja flinch, but then he remembered, no one probably even knew! “Oh no, has no one told either of them?”

“W-What?” Garmadon swallowed. 

“Master was murdered!! Your own father, you poor dear!” 

“Sliced right up!” 

“It had to have been another assassin sent by Arcturus!”

“Why was he not being protected!? I knew we should have made sure he had a personal guard at all times!” 

The other elementals were all clamoring at the same time, it was honestly over stimulating. Finally Misako pushed through the crowd and stood up on the nearest bench, trying her best to shout over the hoard of masters before her in chaos. Finally, she slammed her foot down and gave the place a small shake; that got their attention. 

“Masuta, may have made Ninjago, but he sure as hell didn’t defend it! We all did that job while he idly sat by and told us all what to do! Lately, Garmadon and I’ve been telling you all what to do! So what does it matter that he’s gone now!? Would he want you all to give up now that we’re so close to winning this fight!? When we win, we’ll win because we were the ones who never gave up!”

Garmadon smiled a bit as he heard her talk on, he stood up next. “You know what?! She’s right! Think for yourselves for once damnit! He was dying anyways! We all knew it was going to happen one day! He told me himself!” 

“But-”

Garmadon pointed. “No friggin “buts” from you Venus! You single handedly led us to victory in Andella town where your troops locked up the ENTIRETY of the Venomari tribe! The BIGGEST tribe mind you! With some brilliant assistance from Lila of course.” He coughed, remembering to include the form master. “If you can’t think for yourselves, then you’re no better than every Seprentine underling Arcturus orders around!”

They all were silent now, seeming to think over what he had said. “So WHAT if my dad’s gone? Let’s finish this. There’ll be a time to grieve later if you want to.”

He smiled when they did their best to not sound depressed, but it was still a start. He then spotted across the crowd the familiar red, woven hat; Ronin. Garmadon readjusted his hold on his bag and stepped down to let his fiancée take over. 

Misako nodded and decided to keep on talking. “That’s right everyone, we need to focus on putting the rest of the snakes away before we can even begin to mourn all of our losses.”

Garmadon snuck around to get next to Ronin who looked confused. “What’s your game here? You’re inspiring them to fight now?” He looked at the taller man suspiciously. 

“It’s nothing much, just doing you a solid.” Garmadon chuckled, pulling the fake flute out of his bag. “You can owe me one later if you want. I went back to the monastery last night, Misako talked about everything that was going on.”

Ronin raised an eyebrow as he took the glass flute, looking it over. “This is what brought down a whole army of warriors?”

The other man chuckled, “Yeah dumbass, they have a bunch more, but of course, it’d be too obvious if I pinched them from the other masters.” He pointed to Raven who had her flute on her belt. Ronin seemed to buy that they were the same. “It only works on Serpentine, it’s enchanted, super special.” He smirked. Ronin narrowed his eyes; obviously he was trying to scan Garmadon’s thoughts for chinks in the arm. 

“How’d you get this off of my sister exactly? She never lets her guard down with this kind of stuff.”

“Roro, my guy, you’re her brother, of course you don’t have the same kind of… affect on her as I do.” Garmadon elbowed him a few times.

“Gross,” Ronin shook his head, stowing the flute. “Why’re you helping me anyways when you were trying to make it like I was the mole for them?”

“Natural defense,” Garmadon held his arms behind his back, trying to play off the question. “I mean, we’re in the same line of work now, I’m Chen’s number three and I don’t need anyone stepping on my turf. Not if I want to show up Clouse of course.”

“You’re hard man to read Garm, I will say that.” Ronin patted his bag. “But I can’t say I didn’t appreciate the assistance.” He watched his sister attempt to give a pep talk. “She sure is passionate. I almost feel bad, but hey, maybe she’ll get spared being she’s gonna marry you and all.”

“Right, of course,” Garmadon looked down. It was all the more reason to carry this through and end the war. “You should get heading back before anyone recognizes you. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“See you tomorrow night then,” Ronin tipped his hat and walked off. 

 

*****

 

It was hard to sleep that night, knowing that there was no turning back now, too many things were set in motion in the past twenty-four hours; they had to be prepared for their last set of battles. 

“And he just took it without questions?” Misako leaned against her propped up pillow, listening to Garmadon explain what happened that morning. 

“Yeah! I was trying so hard not to laugh! And it’s not like he would be suspicious of me anymore, I mean,” Garmadon stopped himself; he still had that weight of killing Masuta. “Well, ya know what he saw me do.” He looked away from her. 

Misako sadly smiled. “If it’s any consolation, I’m glad he’s gone. I’m glad you did it, even if it wasn’t entirely on your terms.”

“Thanks Koko, but I still feel a bit dirty since he didn’t put up a fight. I just imagined I’d make one last stand in rebellion to him and he’d throw the first shot and I’d fight back, proving to him I’m better than he said I was.” Garmadon rolled onto his back. “Just make sure I didn’t have to do all of that in vain.”

“I promise,” she leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Actually, we got a location on our General Skalidor and the Constricti Army.” The piqued his interest now. “They’re in the mountainous region a few miles off of the Sea of Sand. We’re going to move out at dawn to take them down and relocate them to the Mountain of a Million Steps.”

“Always on the move, aren’t you?”

“But of course.” She chuckled. “And as soon as the last snake is locked up, I’m gonna marry you and we’re gonna run off into the sunset, have our family, and no one will see or hear from us again!” She giggled more when Garmadon pulled her closer. 

“I’m so lucky I have you,” he breathed, kissing her. “Be careful and don’t get yourself hurt though. I want both of us to be able to run from here.”

“And don’t you get yourself hurt either mister,” she answered him back. “I’ll never forgive myself if you die on me.” She held his face. 

“I won’t die on you Koko,” he held her close. “So, what kind of flowers do you want for your little wedding bouquet when we elope?”

“I want pink camellias,” she closed her eyes, smiling. “They’re my favorite flower.” She liked the idea of eloping, but still, she also wanted an actual wedding.

“Nice choice, they’re almost a pretty as you,” he laced his fingers between hers. “Since you brought up that whole family thing… what do you want our kids to look like?”

“I want a little boy that looks just like you.”

“Well I want him to have your eyes at least. I still want a little girl too you know, I haven’t given up on that.”

She smiled warmly, closing her tired eyes. “I’ll have as many kids as you want honey. And what would our hypothetical son and daughter be named?”

“I don’t know Misako,” Garmadon yawned. “Any name you come up with would be a fine one.”

“I always thought Harumi for a little girl. If it wasn’t for Ella, well, I would have liked to have named her Harumi.”

“It’s beautiful, but what about our son you want so much?”

“Lloyd, for my dad… he was always so kind to me before he passed away,” Misako wiped her eye. 

“Of course,” Garmadon felt himself drifting off now, which was a good thing since he had still been on edge all day. “I love you Koko.”

“I love you Garm; goodnight.” 

 

*****

 

Chen’s Dojo, Mapleburg, August 1984

 

Garmadon looked up at the old dojo sign, rolling his head back and sighing as he walked back up the steps, wishing for this to be over and done with. Jessica had greeted him with a smile and led him back to his room. “You look exhausted.”

“I feel exhausted.” He wiped his face. “I take it you heard about what happened?” She nodded, looking a bit disappointed. “I hope you don’t think any less of me because I did that.”

“How could I? I’d kill Chen if I was given the option. From everything you’ve told me, it sounded more like your dad mentally abused you rather than taught you.” The red head folded her arms, clearly speaking from experience. “I’d give anything to do what you did.” 

“Well, dad only taught me how to repress my actual powers and made me take on my mother’s bloodline to use in combat.” He looked at his hands. “Until I came here, I could barely manifest the dark matter energy.”

Jessica nodded, “Right, the great lady of shadow was your mother,” she scratched her shoulder, looking nervous. “Listen, whatever happens tonight, be ready to run, I saw Ronin come in last night with a flute.”

“It’s a fake,” he quickly assured her. “Misako and I made sure of it.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Well, what are you hoping to accomplish by giving him the fake one? You have a real one right there in that bag.” She gestured to the item of topic that sat in a corner. “Anyways, what’s next?”

Garmadon shrugged. “Misako and Rose are moving out right now to meet the Constricti troops and what’s done will be done with that. It won’t matter if they know we’re spies or not.” He laid back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. “Make sure you have your stuff packed, just in case.”

Jessica nodded, “naturally.” She went to leave when she heard Chen calling for her. “Hey, before I leave to go serve “his highness” out there, I have an idea about the meeting… just for, well, reassurance.”

 

*****

 

Sitting in the same room as Artcturus would be something Garmadon would never get used to. It just naturally put him on edge since the time he helped Misako and the others fight off a small group of them in Hikari when they first attacked and killed their friend Ella in the process. 

“Good, it looks like we’re all here.” Chen was about ready to sit down and go over things. 

“Um, where’re the two black clothed guys?” Garmadon looked around, only seeing the general and his two guards, Clouse, Chen, Jessica, and Ronin in the room.

“Oh, keeping an eye on Skalidor for us; can’t be too careful now that it’s only down to two tribes in the fight. Those masters could easily overpower us now if we’re not careful.” Chen explained. Arcturus looked pissed off still over that fact. 

Jessica cleared her throat, which reminded Chen to move on. “Oh yes, so as I told you general, Garmadon here took down your great enemy the other night; isn’t that something?” He leaned on the table. “I taught him everything he knows.”

“Yess, I did here about that,” the Anacondrai hissed, looked intently at Garmadon. “I heard the old fool was too frail to even put up a fight and let you do it; must have been hard for you to do such a thing to the man that raised you.”

“I’d used the word “raised” very loosely sir,” Garmadon folded his arms. 

“But of course.” The snake turned to Ronin. “I hear this dumbass was a potential leak?”

“No sir!” Ronin shook his head. “I know exactly how your armies went missing.” Garmadon was surprised when he didn’t pull out the flute, it was a map. “I swiped this from my sister’s tent when the whole camp was in hysteria over their master’s death.” He smirked. 

Everyone leaned over to look at the map. Garmadon’s eyes widened as he looked at the handwriting, it was his girl’s alright. 

“How delightful, these are their attack plans! My my my,” Arcturus pulled the scroll towards him to look at it better. “Very good, very good,” he darkly chuckled. 

“And better yet, how they were able to subdue them, here,” he pulled out the fake flute Garmadon gave him the morning prior. “They apparently use these to hypnotize Serpentine and lead them into those holding pens where they’re sealed away.”

As Ronin talked on, Garmadon leaned over to take another look at the scroll. He covered his mouth when he felt a smirk forming. Sure that was Misako’s handwriting, but these plans were entirely false. “She even thought about that.” He thought to himself.

Arcturus held the glass flute, looking it over. “Pythor,” he snapped his fingers and handed it to the longer necked snake that was with him. He seemed a bit familiar, but Garmadon couldn’t place it. “What do you think?” When the others looked confused, he smiled, “He took an interest in enchantments; it’s come in quite handy believe it or not. What do you think son?”

“Son?” Garmadon’s eyebrows rose. It was weird to hear that, he didn’t think they could reproduce.

His apparent son shook his head. “There’s nothing special about this flute father.” He smashed it on the table, shattering it. “If it was enchanted to any degree, it wouldn’t have broken.” He glared at Ronin. “You were duped; clearly he’s incompetent or straight up lying to cover up the real method.”

“Hold on! I didn’t actually find it! Garmadon gave it to me and said he swiped it from my sister! He said she told him everything since she trusts him! Maybe he’s the one that’s lying here!” He pointed to the taller man. 

Eyes were on Garmadon now and he stood up, pointing to the map. “Well, that map’s a fake! I could tell you right now that the Hypnobrai are not sealed away in the Underworld, and they’re definitely not setting up an ambush in Hiroshi’s Labyrinth! It was let slip that they had scouts report on the exact location of Skalidor’s army!” 

Chen elbowed Clouse, “This is getting good Clousey, get the popcorn.”

“Isn’t that Jessica’s job?” the younger man mumbled, but got up anyways when it was clear Chen was no longer listening to anything else but Ronin and Garmadon argue. 

 

*****

 

Mountain of a Million Steps, Sea of Sand, August 1984

 

Misako and Rose stood at the very top of the mountain, looking down at the congregated members of the Constricti Army, just waiting around for their next orders probably. The two looked back at their own group of people, just waiting to strike them down and scratch another army off their list. 

“Whenever you’re ready Rose, you can lead the charge on this one,” Misako looked to her cousin who was adjusting the tape on her hands. 

“I appreciate that Mimi,” she tied it off, pulling out her spear. “Skalidor’s number two is mine. I want him dead.”

“He’s the one that killed Uncle Cole, right?”

“The very same one,” the darker skinned ninja pulled her mask up over her mouth and nose, nodding.

Misako turned back and made a motion that they were ready to strike. “You know what to do. Leave the general and his party to us and be careful, their tails and grip are strong enough to immobilize and kill us.” She too pulled her mask up and the masters jumped down to begin their surprise attack. 

 

*****

 

Garmadon chuckled as Ronin tried so hard to discount him at every chance he could. 

“Listen, seriously, the Hypnobrai are all the way over here, the Fangpyre are in the valley, Venomari? They’re obviously in the Toxic Bogs since they were last seen in Andella town, eight miles from the edge of the bogs! Why would I lie about that?”

“Because you’ve been playing them this entire time,” Ronin jabbed a finger at Garmadon, pissed off. 

The taller ninja looked over to the others still watching and he pulled the map over. “He clearly pieced this all together wrong. I mean, he was wrong about the flute.”

“You gave it to me!”

“Unless you’re hiding the real one I gave you in order to protect the masters!” Garmadon declared and he pointed to Jessica. “I took the liberty of snooping through your things when you went out to the bar earlier since, well, I don’t trust you.”

“I kept my room locked!” 

“We have no locks on any of the doors accept this one,” Jessica informed him as she placed his bag on the table. 

Arcturus was glaring at Ronin now, almost like he was going to eat him. The mercenary swallowed hard. 

“Ah, here we go now,” Garmadon chuckled, pulling out another flute, his own flute to be exact, but none of them had to know that. “What about this one?” Ronin looked stunned as this new flute was handed over to Pythor who looked it over. 

“I believe this is one is enchanted.” He handed it back to Garmadon and gestured to the guard they had with them. “I want to see how it works.” He smirked. 

Well, that part sucked, but Garmadon complied and played it, bringing the Anacondrai guard into a trance as the ninja carefully played the tune he heard the other masters practicing before he left to come back to the dojo. 

“Amazing,” Arcturus said when Garmadon stopped. “Looks like you finally have a competent man under you Chen. He’s strong, cunning, he doesn’t miss a trick.”

“He certainly doesn’t.” Chen chuckled. 

Ronin shook his head. “You planted that one in my bag! You’re the double agent here!” He slammed his hands on the table. “If Skalidor was under attack, we would have heard about it!” 

Garmadon was enjoying seeing his soon to be brother in-law break down and crumble. This act was a little too enjoyable though and he had to reel himself back in when Jessica shot him a look. “Make no mistake Roro, Misako’s there right now taking down poor Skalidor, good for you, you tried so hard to hide their secrets.” 

“He’s bluffing!” Ronin retorted. 

One of the black clothed assassins that Chen kept around appeared in the room suddenly. Garmadon was just as surprised though to be honest. He now knew they could us spatial magic to teleport too, but clearly something had to have gone wrong for them to send someone back to report in.

“The Constrictai have fallen. The Mountain of a Million Steps.”

Though it was frustrating news for everyone else there, Jessica and Garmadon hid their triumphant smirks. Everything played out in their favor perfectly, this just added to their deception. 

Chen pointed to Ronin. “Clouse, I want you to teach him a lesson in how we deal with scheming little moles like him.”

Clouse was very glad to comply as he raised the hand that wore the spiked gloves. “With pleasure sir.”

“He set me up! HE SET ME UP!” 

 

*****

 

“Now it doesn’t matter what we do,” Jessica smiled as she and Garmadon sat on the back porch, everyone had either left or was asleep. “We can leave right now if we wanted and we’d be safe.”

“True, there really isn’t much more to do now that Arcturus is the final general standing.” Garmadon slouched forward. “That was a good idea, pretending like we found the real flute, like Ronin was hiding it.”

“Well, props to your girlfriend for making a fake chart.” Jessica chuckled. “You’re very lucky to have her.”

“She knows Ronin very well; of course she’d expect he’d pinch something from her tent.” Garmadon nodded. “Come on, let’s split while we still have the chance. I took the flute back from the meeting room.” He got up, helping her to her feet now. “Neuro told me that they’re sending people right now to apprehend Chen and Clouse and everyone else that stayed loyal to him.”

“Good…” Jessica looked away. 

He seemed confused by her half-hearted reaction. “What’s wrong? I thought you wanted that.”

“I do,” she nodded. “I do, it’s just, feels kind of, well, weird now.” She wiped her eyes, was she crying now? She noticed his confusion. “Right, I never said anything because, well, it would just get in the way of tonight and might have distracted you. I guess since you’re my friend, I should just tell you, especially now that it’s all over; I’m pregnant.”

His eyebrows rose in shock. “Oh my gosh. Does-”

“Chen knows alright. It’s what he’s always wanted from me. My blood, my lineage, to continue the amber masters, but for his own selfish reasons. That’s the only reason why he keeps me so close to him.” She clutched the fabric over her dress. “I guess I’m just, happy that they’ll never get to know their father. It’s bittersweet really. I always wanted to be a mother, but it’s the child of the man that enslaved me.”

Garmadon finally noticed the small bump she was probably hiding. “Come on; let’s get you far away from here; you won’t have to worry about Chen ever again and you and your baby will be fine.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, reassuring her. 

They quickly slipped out after grabbing Garmadon’s things. The two got as far as walking down the steps when they heard someone clearing their throat, catching their attention. 

Clouse was waiting at the gate to the main road. 

“I’m starting to think that Ronin actually was set up judging by your packed bags.”


	19. Chapter 18

Garmadon got in front of Jessica when Clouse stood up from leaning against the gate, clawed gloves out. “Looks like I’ll be dealing with you after all Garmadon. You almost had me convinced earlier at the meeting in all honesty.”

Jessica now got in front of Garmadon. “Chen would have your head if anything happened to this baby!” Her hands balled into fists. Her friend noticed her trembling as she tried to stand up to him.

Clouse rolled his head back, annoyed with her. “Fine, if this is how it’s going to be; step aside then Jessica so I don’t do anything to you.”

“No.” She defied. “You’re going to let us leave right now.”

“I can’t do that sweetheart.” He stepped closer, grabbing her face as her turquoise eyes welled up. “Stop it; I know what you’re doing and it won’t work on me this time.” He looked away, irritated at the clear attempt at puppy eyes.

The red head’s nose scrunched up as she looked in disgust at him now. “How can you defend that man after everything we’ve been through!? I see how he treats you! How he’s always treated you since you were young! He constantly uses and abuses you Clouse; you’re just like me, you know that we only ever had each other throughout this whole mess! You’re gonna turn your back on me now? This is finally my chance to leave.” 

“Ever think about my feelings in that?”

“Then come with me- us.” Garmadon looked back and forth and the two talking. Was he missing something?

Clouse looked like he was going to hesitate now, but looked back to Garmadon who continued to look on in confusion. “Ugh, what do you know about anything!? I don’t want to talk about this in front of him!”

The red head persisted though. “He preys on weak people, makes us think we needed him, but we don’t. Come with us,” she insisted more, “the masters might spare you any punishment if you abandon Chen now. You don’t need him, be your own person and stop relying on others so much! Do the right thing; if not for yourself, then for me?”

“You know I can’t leave.” Reluctantly, he released her, stepping to the side. “Make sure Chen never sees that kid.” He looked back up to Garmadon, “As for you,” the two men glared at one another until Clouse broke it, turning away. “Keep her safe. I’ll ensure they don’t follow you until you get back to your monastery.” He adjusted his gauntlets.

Garmadon blinked, he didn’t expect his tone to soften up like that. He didn’t have time to ask what was up; he just wanted to get out before anyone else woke up. The two were almost out the gate when something fast knocked them both over. 

“WHAT NOW!?” The ninja looked up, irritated as his head throbbed from hitting the ground, though he had a feeling he knew who this was. How did he miss that someone else was there?

“Clouse, we’ll leave your punishment up to Chen for allowing these traitors to leave without any kind of attempt to stop them.” The two shadows stepped out into the moonlight. 

“You were always easily manipulated. It’s why Chen made you his second after all. You really thought you were special to him? He just keeps you close for that lovely ability you have.” The other spoke. 

Jessica looked back at Clouse, eyes begging for him to step in and help, but he looked away from her gaze. She then looked back to the two cloaked men who forcefully picked her up by the arms. “Don’t touch me!!” She snapped at them. “Guys!” 

“For now, I think we’ll just dismember this traitorous snake and lock this bitch up like they both deserve,” the taller drew a blade. “Maybe we’ll start with the legs, make sure he can’t run off on Master Chen again.”

Garmadon jumped to his feet, hands glowing black. “Stay back jackasses before I melt your skin off.” He growled. “I’m walking out of here with her whether you like it or not!!” He swiped at the two, but they dodged expertly, almost like they saw what was coming.

“You idiot; you can’t take those two on!” Clouse warned him. 

“And why not!?” Garmadon angrily shouted back, still not landing a hit.

“They’re both masters of time! That’s how they can teleport and fight better than anyone you’ll ever get the chance to meet!” Clouse explained. Garmadon barely dodged their attack. “Idiot,” Clouse grumbled as he stepped in, taking a slash at the shorter’s side since he was preoccupied with Garmadon who drew his katana out to fight with now, hoping to maybe get more reach with it.

“ENOUGH!” 

All five turned to look at Chen who was standing on the porch of the dojo, looking at all of them. “Now,” he started, calmly. “I really must say, I’m quite surprised to see this. Garmadon, there was always a sliver of doubt you were never going to be loyal to me, good show though, I must say. I was entertained with how you manipulated the situation to frame Ronin. I really taught you well, you did whatever it took to win, but now you lose.”

His eyes shifted to Clouse next as his face turned to disappointment. “I expected more from you Clouse, I really did, you let the words of one woman change your outlook on your perfect life here? After everything I have done for you? You’re lucky I like you so much. You’re like a son to me.” 

“A son… sure.” Clouse avoided his gaze, looking more like a child that was just reprimanded. He apologetically looked over to the young amber master. 

Chen stepped down to the ground, eyes on Jessica. “My darling, I never realized you hated being here with me so much. You could have just said something you know.”

“Bullshit!” Jessica shook, “You got off to how much I hated being here! Being with you!” Her hands held her small baby bump protectively. “You’re going down Chen, you’re never gonna see the light of day ever again when we’re done with you! I’m glad my baby will know a world without you in it!”

Chen chuckled. “It’s our baby Jessie dear. I have rights over them too. I won’t be letting go of you so easily.”

“You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you, you scumbag?!” She spat back. “I’m leaving here tonight. I’ve waited so long to get out of this hellhole; you’re not taking this away from me now!”

The older man snapped his fingers, “Krux, Acronix, subdue all three and throw them in the attic where Ronin’s being held. Maybe we can use Garmadon as some kind of hostage since his girlfriend’s up in high command. And don’t be too heavy handed with her please.” He yawned. “I’m going back to bed.”

“CHEN!” Jessica shouted and pulled out a dagger she kept in her long sleeve, ready to throw it when the taller time master pulled her arms back, stopping her quickly.

“I got her Krux, you take care of dumb and dumber.” The one assumed to be Acronix shouted. 

Krux landed a nice punch to Clouse’s sternum, making the young man drop to his knees, doubled over, and gasping for air. All that was left now was to take care of Garmadon, which they realized would not be easy for one to do alone when the opponent was the son of a god. 

The older ninja had an easier time dodging; this wasn’t his first time up against a time ninja thankfully, so he knew what to expect. Jessica was forced to watch, afraid for her friend who was just trying to help her. “Clouse get up! Help him!” She demanded from the fallen one. “Please!”

“I’m done; I’m not sticking my neck out anymore than I already have!” He managed to lift his head and say. “Oh shit, I think they broke something…” He wheezed. 

“Clouse,” she whined, upset he wasn’t trying. 

She didn’t know what to do now; she would have to do something the time masters would not expect her to do so they couldn’t see it coming. She slammed her head back as hard as she could; thankfully, Acronix was not wearing any armor under those robes so the blow hit him square in the chest. It stunned him long enough for her to pull from his grasp and land an elbow hit to Krux’s backside. 

Chen turned around when he heard the tussle pick up again, shocked that Jessica was fighting back now, but he panicked when Krux instinctively whipped around to thrash her to the ground out of anger. “You wanna fight too, bitch!?

“STOP YOU IDIOT! I JUST SAID TO BE CAREFUL WITH HER!!” Chen shouted angrily back. 

“Shit,” Clouse looked up when he heard the shouting again when they addressed Jessica.

She cried out in pain and kept on crying, boy did that sound familiar to Garmadon. “Oh shit.” He saw his chance to strike; they were distracted so he slashed the time masters, one in the back and the other in the side. He hoped he hit something important, but they weren’t as fazed like he would have liked. 

As fast as he could, he gripped the sword with his left hand and tried his best to pull Jessica to her feet to try and help her away. 

It felt like it was all happening in slow motion, maybe it was the time masters’ doing? But they looked equally stunned as they recovered from the hits. He only knew one other way he was getting them both out of here fast enough. He sheathed his katana and remembered he brought his favorite, handy scroll with him that he was fortunate enough to take when leaving the monastery to come back here. He quickly read it off and in a flash; they were taken from the dojo grounds.

Chen and the others stared at where the two just were. “What the hell happened!? Find them!” 

“He made a jump with the use of a scroll, we can’t track that,” Acronix pulled his hood off, frustrated, holding the gash in his side. 

Chen looked even more pissed now. “You idiots are going to fix this problem for me right now!” He looked to Clouse. “First, lock him up in the attic and then go look for those two traitors!”

“Yes sir,” Krux weakling said, pulling Clouse to his feet. “Move it before I break something else.” He pinned his arms behind his back. 

“I’m very disappointed in you.” Chen shook his head like a disappointed father.

The younger student sadly smiled, “At least she got away.” That earned a whack in the head from Chen.

 

*****

 

“Shit, ouch,” Clouse seethed through his teeth when the time masters threw him to the ground before leaving the attic, hands tied behind his back. “Why did I have to cave in for her? Why do I always cave in for her?!” He mumbled to himself. His whole body ached from the beating the other two gave him.

“You look great Clouse, looks like you cracked a rib or two by the way you’re writhing like that. Even with one eye now I can tell that much.” Ronin smirked, enjoying seeing the other in pain. “Now you believe me?”

“I always kind of did. No way Garmadon was going to ever betray the girl he loves so much for a guy like Chen.” Clouse turned to look at the older man, smirking more as well. “I just didn’t like you either and thought your cocky ass would be brought down a peg if you got tortured.”

“Yeah, well, looks like we’re both stuck up here, how about that?” Ronin leaned against a few boxes, trying to stretch his back and shoulders. “I can’t believe you actually helped them though.” Clouse raised an eyebrow. “I heard pretty much everything that went down out there. Why all of a sudden you have a change of heart about doing EVERYTHING your master says?”

“Maybe it’s personal and you wouldn’t understand.” The younger snapped back. 

“I was always curious, how’d you even get involved with a guy like Chen to have this much loyalty? He’s not your father or anything, right?”

“Dear gods no, that’d make things even worse and… weirder. It’s, well, a pretty long and uncomfortable story.”

Ronin chuckled. “Well, we have time for a little heart to heart session I think, and I’d like something to distract me from this awful pain coming from my now empty eye socket. You owe me that much I think.”

“Oh, right, sorry about that,” He wasn’t sorry. “But, well, if you dare make fun of me at all, you’re going to lose eye number two,” he threatened, but sighed. “I was a kid, my powers skipped a few generations, so my parents didn’t know how to deal with it, I came from an area that wasn’t too keen on magic so they figured they could try and beat it out of me if they hit hard enough.”

Ronin nodded. “How funny, my powers skipped a generation too. Misako and I both, we learned everything we could probably get away with by using them and caused so much trouble we were both shipped off to the monastery so Masuta could discipline us for them while they went out and lived their lives.” He mumbled with just a bit of disdain in his voice.

“You got lucky then. You see I got a double beating when my dad found out I was… well, that’s not really vital information I guess.” Clouse closed his eyes. “The point is-” 

“You didn’t swing that way?” Clouse glared at him for trying to get him to talk about it. “Just saying!” Ronin chuckled at the other’s reaction. “Who was the lucky guy you dad saw you with? Hmmm?” He teased.

“Maybe I shouldn’t continue,” Clouse rolled on his other side. 

“Okay okay, sorry, I won’t bring it up again…” he mumbled. 

The other gave an exasperated sigh as he looked back over to Ronin. “It doesn’t even matter because the only guy I ever showed my powers to and trusted used me to protect him from bullies and then dumped my ass when I was no longer useful. There was only one person I ever really cared about like that.”

“Jessica?” Clouse lifted his head, surprised when Ronin guessed. “Oh I can sense the sexual tension all over you two, the looks. Plus it makes plain sense you two would hookup.” The other raised an eyebrow inquisitively. “Shared trauma; you both were done dirty by Chen, huh?”

“I… guess. We took care of each other after he would- wait, why am I telling you any of this!?” Clouse managed to sit up, suddenly very self aware. “You’re playing mind tricks on me for your own entertainment, aren’t you?”

Ronin shook his head, smirking, “I think this is what we call “making a connection” Clouse. It means you feel comfortable around me to “over share” about your life.” He chuckled again when the other turned around, seeming to be done with him. “I remember when Misako came to me when she needed to talk about something that she was going through.” He sighed.

“I had a little sister.” 

“Had?” The use of that word could only mean one thing.

Clouse nodded. “Yeah, she was deaf so things were already hard enough for her in our house, but Chen found the both of us after we were chased into the forest by these kids that bullied us at school. That’s how it all started with him; this dojo was like a safe haven for us when we didn’t wanna go home yet. I always lied about going there. Viola never could control her powers though, no matter how hard she tried, she was small and weak.”

“Oh shit, you mean your parents-”

“Yep, I just hope it was a quick death, she deserved that much. So I killed them when I found her body.” He said it so matter of fact, like it was no big deal he killed his own parents. “Then I ran all the way here, not looking back.”

“Dude.” Ronin started scooching away as best he could. “Even I wouldn’t go that far. I never killed anyone. Oh wait, there was that guy that broke into my house once, he died at the hospital though so I don’t think that one counts-”

“Well if you wouldn’t do that for your own sister if she was getting beaten for being herself, then what kind of brother are you?” Clouse shot back. “No wonder she hates you. I can’t imagine what you must have insensitively done to piss her off.”

“Yeah well,” Ronin coughed. “So you’re saying Chen basically groomed you into this antisocial, emotionally stunted hermit sitting before me?” He tried to change the subject, not wanting to remember the last conversation he had with Misako.

“Guess he did? What does it matter though? I have no friends no family left, Jessica’s gone too now. I might as well stay here and face whatever punishment they’re going to throw at me for helping Chen all these years.” Clouse closed his eyes. “Our pasts don’t matter at this point, we’re just the bad guys in this story whether we like it or not. There’s nothing I could ever do to redeem myself now. She was wrong when she said she thought I could change.”

There was a ripping sound and Clouse looked over to Ronin whose hands were now freed. It looked like he found a shard of an old, broken mirror to cut the ropes with. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m not getting arrested in the morning when the troops come, and I should take care of this before it gets infected and I have a worse problem on my hands.” He wiped off the dried blood from his face with his sleeve. “You could come with me you know; I’ve been in the market for a new, uh, business partner.” 

“No thanks. I don’t need your pity or your company.” Clouse mumbled. “Leave if you want, I’m staying.”

It was surprising how defeated he had sounded. “But you could get a second chance; do whatever you wanted! Maybe even find Jess-”

“She deserves someone far better and stable. Goodbye Ronin. Good luck out there.” He told the mercenary as he started climbing through the window to leave. “You should find your sister and apologize to her if you really cared about her.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Well, may the masters have mercy on you, man,” the older man sighed, looking back one more time before leaving.

 

*****

 

Garmadon gasped when they reappeared again; where? Well, he wasn’t quite sure of that, but he knew he had to move quickly, just in case he was followed. He looked to his left and realized he almost forgot what he was doing already.

“Jessie!” He tried to get her to sit up, but she was still shaking and crying. “Oh shit, oh shit, no,” he looked around, trying to get his bearings. “It’s okay, I’m gonna get you help, okay?” 

That’s when he saw a familiar body of water, the lake they would swim in during the summer, before the war. He perked up, looking to his right where there was a trail that could still be made out, even at night. 

“Home.” He breathed as he quickly got to his feet, picking his friend up and hurried. “I hope Namiko is home, she’ll know what to do.”

 

*****

 

Jessica gasped as her eyes flew open and her eyes searched the unknown room to try and get her bearings. It was daytime and the last thing she remembered was leaving the dojo and… “No,” she flinched, sitting up quickly.

“Easy! Easy!” A woman she never met before suddenly appeared and eased her back down, trying to keep her calm. “You’re among friends Jessica, don’t worry.” The brunette smiled warmly to her. “We’re here to help you.” 

“Where am I?” the amber master looked around, completely dazed. 

“The monastery of course; oh, you probably don’t remember much. I’m Master Namiko Atin; water master and combat medic.” Namiko extended her hand to shake. Jessica weakly lifted her arm to do so. “Garmadon practically kicked the gates down, screaming for everyone to wake up, you in his arms. I can’t imagine what you must have gone through last night.”

“Is he okay!? Where is he?”

“Garmadon’s just fine, don’t worry about him. He should be back soon from his debriefing with the council actually.” Namiko sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her hands. “I know you’ve been through a lot these past twenty-four hours, but the masters would also like to ask you some questions too, considering, you know, you’ve known Chen for years.”

“Yes, but where’s my-”

Namiko cut her off, holding her hands. “I did everything I could, but by the time Garmadon got you back here, there wasn’t anything I could do. You were barely five months; the chances of a healthy child were slim. Especially since this isn’t a hospital.” She saw the red head’s eyes well up. “He tried, he really did. Poor guy was completely exhausted when he climbed all those steps and practically broke down the gates to get you help.”

Jessica covered her face, unable to even speak. 

“I know how you feel.” The two women looked to the doorway to see Misako walk in. “Sorry to intrude.” She took Namiko’s place on the bed. “I lost a baby too, my little girl… funny enough because I was also beaten by a time master.” She looked down, “It won’t be easy, but you’ll be able to move past it. It’s heartbreaking, even if it was Chen’s-”

“It,” Jessica started, looking away, biting her lip. “It wasn’t Chen’s though…”

Namiko and Misako looked at one another in confusion.

 

*****

 

Ninjago City County Prison, August 1984

 

“So Ronin got away and Krux and Acronix abandoned us, tragic to say the least. I’m sure Arcturus will be preparing to send a-”

“Artcurus used us!” Clouse shouted at Chen furiously. “He’s not going to ever come back for us and now we’re getting banished to an island far far away from this stupid, forsaken landmass.” He looked away. “You’re little plan is ruined just like I warned you would happen, but NO! You had to worship the frikken snakes and think they would EVER let you have a place in their world!!”

The two were chained to the wall across from each other to make sure they couldn’t attempt an escape; it was unbearable to be stuck in the same cell as Chen to say the least, but sadly, they were not blessed with separate rooms.

“I should have just left with them when I had the chance… I even had a second one when Ronin offered me to leave with him and I- you’re a shitty person, you know that?” Clouse glared at Chen. “You’re so surprised everyone else abandoned you when you weren’t worth anything anymore!?”

“Don’t be stupid, someone as powerful as I won’t be confined by a tiny cell or an island for long.” Chen chuckled. “I still have big plans Clousey, don’t forget that! And as soon as that baby is old enough, I’ll get them on my side one way or another and then-”

“That wasn’t your kid!” Clouse finally shouted angrily, finally having enough of listening to his master’s crap. “She lied to you.” He started laughing. “And the best part is that you believed it!” 

Chen started laugh more after a beat of silence. “My boy, I made sure I was the only person who would have…” he trailed off. “You didn’t.”

“What of it!? That poor woman was getting mistreated constantly by a guy using her to breed some sort of perfect spawn.” The younger man snapped back, wishing he could get out of the cuffs to beat up Chen right then. “You always pretended to love us! We were like your play things!! She hated it, I… hated it.” 

“Yet you’re still here, taking the fall with me, about to be marooned on the same island.” Chen crossed his legs, continuing to laugh. “Well well well, I just never expected this from someone like you. I didn’t think you had it in you in all honesty! How long has this been going on may I ask?”

The student looked down, no point in hiding it anymore. “About four years.” He admitted. “One night, after you were done with her, she was a complete mess; I figured you roughed her up a bit more than usual. Instead of throwing her back in that dark, locked room you make her sleep in, I brought her to my room and took care of her.”

“And the sparks flew?” Chen teased. 

“It wasn’t right away. We just wanted to see what it was like to care about someone and it got out of hand, it was like a drug we couldn’t put down.” Clouse shook his head. “We didn’t think what could have happened if we continued with it for so long. When she told me about the baby, she wanted to run away. I knew I couldn’t care for them both if we left, you’d always be looking for us, so I told her to lie. But, she never told me she ended up aligning with Garmadon to spy on your plans though.” Part of him was still mad she kept that from him.

“How sweet, you do have a heart in there after all.” Chen smirked. “Shame your little affair is over and you’ll never get to be with her again.”

“Gee, thanks for the reminder.”

 

*****

 

Misako ran a hand through her hair, pacing around the room. “You mean that guy, of all people- I just- I can’t believe it.” She covered her mouth. “He was creepily disconnected from everyone around him ever.

“He didn’t show it out in public, but he was pretty nice deep down; at least he was with me,” Jessica held her hands to her chest. “And now he’s getting banished with Chen which is his worst nightmare.”

“Maybe we could reverse his sentencing,” Namiko tried to stay on the positive side. “Right?” She looked to Misako, hoping she would back her up on this. 

“That’s going to be a no can do, once they make a decision, they normally stick with it.” Misako explained. “I can’t really do anything about it; he never showed any signs of trying to fight against Chen like Jessie here, so it’s all rather pointless I’m afraid.” 

“He’s was as much of a victim as I was though; can’t you just try to tell them he was manipulated from a young age?” Jessica shook her head. “I feel sick.”

“It’ll be okay.” The two rushed to her side again. “We’ll figure something out I’m sure. 

“Hello?” They all heard Garmadon’s voice enter the monastery. He found his way to the small guest room where he saw the three women gathered. “How’re you uh, feeling?”

“Awful.” Jessica replied, tearing up again. 

“You’re safe now-” He looked to Misako who started shaking her head. “Okay what happened?”

“Um, gosh, what didn’t,” Misako started to explain everything Jessica told them. 

He ran a hand through his hair. “I knew something was up between them. It all makes sense now.” He folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “Well you can stay here as long as you want to. When this final battle blows over you can leave and make a life for yourself if you want.”

“Thank you,” the amber master managed to say. “I just don’t know how I could.”

“Speaking of that battle, I need to go back and meet with the masters now that the trial’s out of the way.” Misako remembered. “I’ll see you all soon. We have to get a location on the rest of the army if we’re going to put them away for good.”

“I’ll see you later,” Garmadon pecked her cheek as she walked by. He looked to Namiko now, “we better get ready to move out at a moment’s notice. Who knows how fast Arcturus moves now that he knows they’ve been compromised.” The water master nodded and left the room as well. “Anything I can do for you Jessie?”

The red head looked up at him, hugging herself tightly, hesitating to say something clearly on her mind. “Well, yes actually. There’s just one thing I’d like you to do.”


	20. Chapter 19

Ninjago City County Prison, August 1984

 

Garmadon looked over at Jessica who just stared at the cell door. “Are you sure you wanna see them? You should be in bed anyway; Namiko will kill me when she sees I let you go out. Why don’t I just take you back to the monastery?”

She looked down and gave a long sigh, running a hand through her short hair. “I know I should rest like she wants, but I’ll regret it later if I didn’t come here now. You’re not talking me out of this.” 

The two looked to the guard who shrugged and opened the door for them. “The magic user has anti magic restraints so don’t worry about him trying something.”

“Trust me, that wasn’t even a concern,” the red head ignored the comment and stepped in. 

“Oh hey look Clouse… it’s your girlfriend.” Chen mumbled, clearly not enjoying his well earned comeuppance as he saw the two enter the room. 

The two sentenced criminals were pretty much just chained the opposing walls. “It must be tortuous sharing a cell with him, huh?” Garmadon joked, they both could all but stand being in the same house as the guy.

“You have no idea. He won’t shut up as usual.” Clouse glared across the room at Chen. “And his singing is awful, we’re stuck like this because I may or may not have attempted to bash his head against the wall. But let me guess,” he looked to the two elementals that decided to visit them. “You’re here to break me out?” He was clearly being sarcastic.

“I would if I could,” Jessica folded her arms, looking down. “No, I’m well,” she exhaled, wiping her face as she looked more stressed out. “A lot has happened since last night and… gosh this is so hard.” She sniffed, eyes tearing up again. Garmadon put an arm around her shoulder. 

“Just think, you’ll have the chance to start over and find someone who’ll care about you and the—”

“Krux and Acronix thrashed me so hard I,” she cut him off, hands folded over her still swollen stomach. “Well, you never really showed an interest anyways; maybe it was for the best.” She wiped away a tear that escaped.

Chen just started laughing; man, this guy really was sadistic. Garmadon released his friend and walked over to kick the older man in the side; that got him to shut up fast. “You are the actual worst person ever, and I lived with my dad.”

Jessica cleared her throat before continuing, “It’s not your fault, I shouldn’t have tried to resist and just… I don’t even know what I should have done.”

Clouse cut in before she could say anything more. “I’m just glad you stood up for yourself when I didn’t. I should have stopped being coward and just left with the two of you. Just don’t blame yourself, it’s my own fault I’m here and you’re in pain again.” He looked back to the other man. “Garmadon, get her out of here, she shouldn’t be up.”

“That’s what I said.” The brunette tried to guide the amber master out, it was sad to watch, he didn’t ever want to know the heartbreak his friend must be feeling. “Come on, you’re shaking like crazy, I don’t know why I agreed to take you here.”

“You’re not going to stay on that island for long, I promise,” Jessica looked back as she was practically being pushed out of the room. 

“Take care of her well.”

 

*****

 

“We have to move fast.” Misako had maps strewn about the living room as she and the others were going over their plans. She didn’t even notice Garmadon and Jessica returning.

“What’s she doing up?!” Namiko was fuming when she saw the two come in. “I said she can’t get up for the rest of the day at the very least!” 

“She made me!” Garmadon defended himself. 

“I’m sorry, when you said they were going to be banished tomorrow,” Jessica trailed off. Namiko softened up a bit and hugged her, clearly understanding now. 

“Come on, it’ll be okay,” Namiko guided Jessica to her room. “I’ll be right back guys,” she then followed the other woman. “Let’s Jessie, when this is over we’re going to get in to Ninjago City Hospital, that way they’ll make sure you stay down.” There was a hint of sternness.

Garmadon turned his attention back to the others and plopped down on the couch next to his girlfriend. “So, what’s going on?” Misako looked up, probably somewhat annoyed. “I’m kidding.” He nudged her shoulder. “I’m just glad I can be a part of the fight again.” 

“Yeah, it’ll be nice.” Misako nodded, looking to the small dot that marked the Birchwood Forest. “They were last spotted here. Tanaka has a brother who’s mayor of small town in the western part, and was contacted to serve as an lookout. He’s there right now actually with Neuro.” 

“I guess that town is the best place to meet them head on.” The brunette sat back. “We’ll need all the flutes to round these guys up, they’re a nasty bunch. I hated being in the same room with any of them.” He shuddered. 

“I remember well.” Rose laid back on the floor. “I say we move out right now before we miss this chance. Who knows when they’ll turn up again, right?!”

“Don’t you think it’ll be a bit too hasty to jump in?” Namiko frowned as she returned to the conversation. 

“Not really,” Rose sat back up, pointing to the town. “Who’s to say they won’t raid Birchwood in hopes of getting more supplies and well, food.” She swallowed. There had been reports of some towns having their people be eating by the Anacondrai warriors as they passed through, it was horrifying to hear about from witnesses.

Misako sighed, rubbing her temples. “What choice do we have, round up the masters, we’ll prepare to move out.” She got up.

“Yes ma’am,” Rose nodded. 

 

*****

 

“We move out to Birchwood tonight! All flute holders; report in to the council for the final plan!” 

Wu and Sayu looked up when the announcement was made. “Birchwood? I guess that’s where the last sighting was.” Sayu looked to her fiancé. 

The blond pulled out the flute he was given and nodded. “I guess we’re both finally getting that battle we wanted. Kind of funny how we wanted to be a part of it for so long, I don’t think I want to go now.” He nervously laughed.

“Are you going to be okay? It’s been a while since you were in a big fight. I’m sure we’ll be fine though, we’re pretty much full masters now, right?” Sayu touched his shoulder and he flinched. “Is something on your mind, Wu?”

She knew he was distracted, she always knew when he was. “I’m okay, it’s just weird, my brother’s back home after so long and we’re almost through this war and maybe I am nervous about fighting the Anacondrai again after the last time when Ella...” He brushed off, shaking his head. “Just, let’s go.” 

Naturally, he was thinking about what he saw the other night in the woods when he followed their father, he knew Garmadon was the one that killed him, but he was also conflicted, he didn’t see Masuta put up a fight. Everyone still thought the Anacondrai killed him, but did they deserve to know the truth?

The devil on his shoulder told him that he should expose his older brother, that way, Garmadon would fall out of public favor and maybe Wu would get the praise for once for exposing a killer and a traitor everyone trusted… but what if they believed that it was a mutual thing and all a part of their great leader’s master plan? The thoughts kept bouncing around in his head so much, Wu would space out constantly. 

He wanted to try avoiding Garmadon a little while longer, but there he was in the council’s tent, of course, all the masters who were gifted the magic flutes were there. The older smiled seeing his brother and waved a bit. 

“Good to have you two finally join us, Wu, Sayu,” Taika smiled. “I think that’s everyone, save for Neuro of course who is remaining in Birchwoord for the time being.” She rolled up her sleeves. “Alrighty, so, naturally, we will need the strength of the entire army, all the elemental masters at our disposal. If we want to end this with a final blow, it will be in Birchwood.”

“Why would they be there? Snakes are desert creatures and Birchwood always has snow!” the metal master, Vlad, raised his hand. 

“I wish we knew the answer to that, we think they took such a blow, they’re going to pick off a town that might not have expected their arrival.” Misako answered the question. “Even they get hungry and think we can’t find them. They’re the smallest of all the tribes though so don’t worry, we can win. We’re pretty much evenly matched; both of our armies are just under two hundred or so, even if they have a slight advantage.” That wasn’t counting the civilians enlisted of course.

Tanaka stepped in, “We will all be positioned throughout the forests, some remaining in town to help defend it, but it’s time we all pull our strengths together. We don’t have to fight them until they die; we just have to group them in one area and then play the flutes. It’s kind of hard to lose at this point.”

“Well we should get going then before any more innocent people get hurt!” Idena pointed out. 

As the others left, Wu stayed behind the group, hoping Garmadon wouldn’t come over to him, but of course, he did. 

“Hey Wu! Sorry I haven’t really had time to say hi and stuff since I got back. There’s been a lot to deal with as you probably know, everything’s been crazy.” The older smiled. 

“Um, of course,” the younger nodded, one hand pulling on the sleeve of his tunic. “Yeah, I’m sure a lot happened, Misako told me a bit about it. I figured you guys needed to some space, especially when you brought that lady here.”

“Jess? Yeah, man, I feel so bad for her. At least when Misako miscarried, we still had each other, you know?”

“Right,” Wu mumbled, he wondered if he should bring up about what happened to their father. “Listen, about dad’s death-”

“Shoot, yeah, as soon as we finish this, the masters wanted a memorial service,” Garmadon remembered, but clammed up fast. “Anyways, we shouldn’t have to worry about that. Just think, we can be our own people now, I know these masters looked up and pretty much worshipped, him, but he was still a shitty guy.”

“Yeah, he was, wasn’t he?” Wu decided it was best not to tell his brother what he saw occur. Now was certainly not the time or place.

“I’d ask if you and Sayu made any wedding plans yet, but I’m sure the camp has been busy with you all trying to track down Arcturus. Shame I never found out where they were hiding out, but luckily you guys still found them!” Garmadon shoved his hands in his pockets. “How uh, has this been doing?” He gestured to his eyes. 

“Hmm? Oh, a lot better, I still have plenty of off days, don’t get me wrong. Kasai and I have rebuilding our friendship; it’s been kind of nice feeling just a little bit normal.” Wu started to smile thinking about it. “In a few days, we’ll have peace again and everyone can rebuild their lives.”

“Yeah,” Garmadon smiled too just thinking about it. 

As soon as the dust would settle, Misako was welcomed back with a full time job that allowed her to travel all over Ninjago and the smaller islands; he was offered the same position so they could stay together and see the world like they dreamed. They already started planning on all the kids they wanted; right now they were up to three. They wanted a wedding in spring, a honeymoon in Andella Town, a townhouse in Ninjago City, just a block away from the museum; they were going to research everything in his father’s locked chest and just be free of the monastery, free of all their family problems.

“Sayu and I agreed to stay at the monastery,” Wu half smiled. “We’ll hold down the fort for you when you’re out travelling.”

“You can honestly have it to yourselves if you want to stay there that badly,” Garmadon shrugged. 

Wu frowned, “Didn’t dad leave the place to you? I thought he left everything to you.”

Garmadon glared at his younger brother. “Do you really think I’d care about that old place? I don’t even know why you’d want to stay! That place is nothing but bad memories. Mom died there, dad practically abused all of us mentally for years on end, Misako was attacked and harmed there on those very steps, and it was the place you…” he looked at his brother’s hand. “It’s hard to read you sometimes Wu, I thought you’d want nothing to do with that place too.”

“Maybe I’m just trying to block out all the bad and focus on the good times. I think you should too, all those things may have happened under that roof, but maybe we can make better memories now that dad’s gone and the war will be over.”

That made the older think. “We can talk about this after the job is done, okay?” Wu nodded. “Good, we need to start focusing on the fight ahead. Let’s hope I didn’t get soft with my cushy spy job.” He chuckled. 

“I’m almost certain you did.”

 

*****

 

The Town of Birchwood, Birchwood Forest, August 1984

Neuro waved as he saw the others walk through the gates. “I’m glad you all made it safe and sound.” He bowed to Taika and looked behind her, happy to see Garmadon and the others. “Right this way!” He led them into the town hall like building. “Crevan, they’re here!” 

Tanaka was the first to walk past the other masters to greet the man in a hug. “Good to see you too Tana,” the man assumed to be Crevan chuckled, patting the younger sibling on the back. “It’s nice to officially meet all of you; as you may know, I run this town, Tanaka and I were born and practically raised here by our grandparents so we know these woods like the backs of our hands. That means we already have an advantage over the snakes in that regard.”

“You know, how come you never mentioned you had a brother until recently?” Kasai raised his hand, looking at his ice master friend. 

“You all never asked, so I didn’t imagine it was important,” Tanaka smiled. “Anyways, Crevan isn’t official, but he does have ice powers himself.”

“Someone had to stay and take over when grandfather retired however, since I’m twelve years older, that responsibility landed on my shoulders,” Crevan rolled his eyes. “Anyways, if you all would have a seat,” he opened another door to a large meeting room. “I have a complete layout of the forests you can use to position your masters.” He explained. “You all must cold from the trek here; we’ll get some tea going for everyone.”

“Thank you,” Misako looked back as she pulled her chair out to sit. “Alright, here’s the plan.” She started. “We simply lure the army to this town. Make sure everyone is hidden in their cellars or attics and we strike, just like Andella town.”

“Yeah, but how do you know they’ll all get close enough?” Jacob asked. “You’d think they’d be smart not to repeat the Andella incident.”

Garmadon stood up. “I’ll challenge Arcturus of course.” They all started at the shadow master, even Misako was surprised by his declaration. “He won’t pass up on the opportunity to try and kill me after all the sabotaging I did to his armies.”

“That’s sounds like a dangerous and risky move; does it not?” Master Turner asked. 

“He’s done stupider shit if you’d believe it, and he’s not dead yet,” Rose yawned. “I say we let him bait the general.”

Misako opened her mouth to object, but quickly closed. “Who am I kidding? It’s the best idea so far and I’m kind of running out of those. Garmadon’s seen them up close and personal more than any of us. All I know is that they’re ruthless and have tough hides that take a lot of effort to pierce.”

“Okay, so it’s settled-!” 

“Hold on, we’ll need a failsafe, we can’t lose the legacy of our creator,” Taika folded her arms. “All the masters at this table will lie in wait in the surrounding area to pull him out if need be. We are the strongest of the army after all.”

“I don’t need to be baby sat and I certainly don’t want any responsibility as a replacement for my dad-!” Garmadon looked mildly offended. 

“Let me make more bombs!” Edna practically cackled in delight. “I’ll blow those devils to kingdom come!” She jumped out of her seat and darted out of the room. “Crevan! I need scrap metal asap!!” 

“Well that settles it then!” Taika banged the table twice, “meeting adjourned!” 

“Ma’am, we still have to plot out the rest of the army.” Misako and Namiko reminded her. 

The older woman sat down, a bit embarrassed for jumping the gun there. “Oh, right, of course.”


	21. Chapter 20

The Town of Birchwood, Birchwood Forest, August 1984

 

Raven peaked out from the huge, fallen tree most of the others were hidden behind. She looked to Misako with concern, “So do you think this is actually going to work?” She then looked back to see Garmadon walking around in the snow a bit, more towards the forest and away from the town. 

“Why wouldn’t it?” Misako asked, confused. 

“He’s just pacing around slowly, I just don’t see how any of this is going to lure Arcturus or his army out.” Raven explained, concerned. 

Misako slowly nodded, “I see you’re not aware of his methods then.”

“ARCTURUS! COME ON OUT I JUST WANNA TALK! IT’S ME; YA BOY.”

Raven held a hand to her face after hearing Garmadon shout into the forest. “So this is the big plan to defeat our greatest enemy? Plant mines and hope Garmadon’s angry shouting attracts them?”

“Well when you put it like that then it sounds like a stupid plan,” Misako looked away. “Sorry if I can’t have a super great plan for everything. We’re kinda running out of options, you know if we want to get this over with fast to appease everyone?”

“Okay, okay, I get it, sorry, I’m just cold and tired of waiting around; it’s been two hours at least,” Raven mumbled more and leaned against the log, pulling her mask around her head.

Misako slouched, giving a short sigh, “Maybe it’s best we regroup and revisit the plan.” She went to stand up when a loud explosion hit. “What the hell?!”

“Looks like first wave incoming!” Rose jumped over their cover to start the attack with Garmadon. 

“Alright then.” Raven shrugged as the others were also jumping out.

They were all waiting for the icy smoke to die down from the mines so they could see their enemies, poised to strike, but oddly enough, they saw no one. The eerie silence was broken by a strange, loud groaning sound that didn’t sound like anything they had heard before. 

“Oh shit,” Tanaka sighed, starting to walk backwards. “We pissed off the treehorns.” 

They all looked to the ice ninja when he had said that. “Um, we pissed off what?”

Loud, thudding steps were heard as a huge shadow broke through the smoke. “Those!” Tanaka pointed at the tall creatures with legs as big as trees. “They live in these woods and only attack when provoked! I knew it was a bad idea for Edna to set mines and bombs... one group likes to migrate through here.”

“Why didn’t you warn us then if you were so damn worried?!” Rose snapped, following suit and backing up. “We don’t need one more thing to fight!” 

As they were backing up, Jacob turned his head. “They’re using the threehorns as cover to distract us; I heard their hissing nearby.”

“Of course they are.” Taika looked to Neuro, “Send a message to the masters in the perimeter to fall back to the town. We have to make sure none of the civilians get hurt.” The mind master nodded and fell back more, trying to relay the message. “Hopefully they can find their way back in time, we scattered everyone out a little too much on this one I think.”

 

*****

 

“Everyone else got that?” Sayu looked up, eyes wide. “Neuro just said that the snakes made it past all of our outposts and are at the front gates of town!” She started climbing down the tree to head back. “We need to hurry and help the others! Come on Wu!” 

Wu followed as fast as he could. “I am hurrying!” He shivered a bit in the cold. “Kas!” He shouted to another tree not much farther from their hiding place. “Come on, we’re going back, be on guard, I don’t know how they slipped past us so well!”

“I heard it, I heard it,” the fire ninja sighed as he also started climbing down, clearly he was about ready to doze off while on the job. “I kinda was hoping they’d chicken out and go hide in a hole and die or something,” he grumbled, pulling his katana out to be ready. “But they never make it easy, huh?”

“Why would they ever?” Namiko mumbled.

 

*****

 

Back at the town, the few masters that were stationed at the gate had to now fend off both anacondrai and treehorns alike and they were not winning as they managed to get hits on both Taika and Rose, two of their best fighters.

“You should really patch that up Rosie,” Misako looked to Rose, concerned when she saw the broken arrow protruding from her cousin’s arm, assuming the adrenaline had kicked in and she probably didn’t even notice. 

“We can take care of it when it’s safe! It’s not messing with my good arm!” The other earth master snapped back as she stomped the ground, sending a huge shake off in their enemies’ direction. “I don’t know how they’re managing to hide from us so well! They’re shots are so accurate! I can’t even see where they’re shooting from!” 

Misako frowned when Rose said that. She looked back to fight before her, flinching when she heard a branch snap from behind. She turned around, swinging the scythe to find she hit something, but nothing was there?

“What the-?” She blinked, and then noticed the imprints in the snow and patches of purple scales. “Oh no.” The anacondrai appeared now where the imprint was. “Shit shit shit,” she managed to stab the fallen snake again and darted back for the gates that were just barely open. “Fall back, fall back, fall back!” She shouted. 

“Misako!? What’s wrong?!” Garmadon asked, backing up to try and follow her. “Koko!” 

“They got by all the others who were on look out duty because they can turn invisible. That’s why they’ve been so damn hard to track down all this time! They had the advantage the entire time and we never knew!” She ran a hand through her messy hair. “I don’t even know if some of them managed to get in now! GREAT!” 

“What’s this about invisibility!?” Taika slipped through the gate as well, holding her bloodied arm. “How come we never knew about that? We’ve been fighting them for over two years!”

“I know,” Misako moved her fringe from her eyes, trying to think of a new strategy. “I don’t know what to do now, the only people that can maybe do something against that are the sound masters and we’re a bit short on those in case you haven’t noticed.”

“And you all love to worship my dad,” Garmadon glared back at the older woman as he sarcastically laughed. “He probably knew about this the entire time, he made them after all! He never did anything to help us; this war was like a game for him.” He looked up at the sky, “isn’t that right dad? You’re just up there laughing at all of us fumbling around in the dark!”

Misako pulled on his arm, “You can curse your father later, we have to make sure everyone inside’s still safe!” They started hearing screams. “Too late.” She looked back, sniffing the air. “They started a fire nearby.” She really wished Namiko was there right now, maybe the other water masters could try and fight it without her. “Try and lure them all to the town square, I guess that’s where we’ll have this final showdown.” She gripped her scythe. “Hopefully the returning scouts will think to do the same.”

The others nodded and broke off to tell the other masters caught up with the revolting treehorns.

 

*****

 

Wu, Sayu, Kasai, and Namiko slowly came to a stop when they arrived back to town, it was all utter chaos and they could see the smoke rising up in a dark plume farther into the town, they could only assume the worst happened. 

“Over the wall, they’ll see us coming through the gate; I have to go help put out that fire,” Namiko ran for the wooden fence, digging the small spikes of her boots in as she propelled herself up and over the high wall with ease. 

“Nami! Wait for us!” Kasai did the same, albeit more clumsily than his girlfriend in his haste. 

Sayu grabbed Wu’s hand and propelled them both up with the wind gust she made. “Everyone, be quiet,” she hushed as they sneaked around one house. “I see some of the other masters falling back to town square. Everyone have their flutes?” She pulled hers out of the satchel. The other three nodded, pulling theirs out as well. “Good, because we’ll need them when we find the others,” she swallowed, taking the lead. 

As they looped around the buildings, Namiko caught sight of the spreading fire she had seen before. Kasai grabbed her wrist though, knowing she was about ready to bolt and expose their position. “We don’t have time to put out every fire here, let the others handle it for now.” The smaller woman looked away, grumbling to herself and hurried after Wu and Sayu.

 

*****

 

Backed into a corner with two other lightning masters, Edna pulled out her own flute and attempted to use it against them. One of the anacondrai laughed and smacked it out her hands, smashing on the ground. 

“Shit, lightning doesn’t do anything against them!” One of the men with her growled out of frustration, sending another bolt their way. 

“Their hides are way too thick! No element is going to do much against them!” Edna looked down at the smashed instrument, guilty over the fact that the council had thought she was worthy of holding onto such an important item. “Damn it.” She clenched her teeth, ready to face what seemed to be their end. 

That’s when a huge gust of wind swept the four snakes up, turning into a twister. The three masters looked to see Sayu bending the air. “Sorry we’re a bit late to the party Eddie!” She apologized. “Are any of you hurt?” she flung the snakes halfway across town. 

“I sprained my ankle while running, Max and Andre here are both totally exhausted trying to protect me,” Edna slouched, look at the older masters who were about ready to pass out. “That snake broke my flute,” she admitted. “I’m really sorry.”

“Apologies later; first, we find Misako and the others,” Kasai hit her in the back of the head. “Now’s not the time to give up just because of one little mistake!” 

Wu nodded,” here, you can have mine, I don’t deserve it anyways, it was more or less an afterthought,” he handed the lightning ninja the instrument. “Let’s go, you’ll need to play loud enough so that they all can hear you guys.”

“I’ll use my wind gusts to carry any stray anacondrai to town square.” Sayu took off. 

Namiko nodded, running the other way, “I’ll turn this ice and snow into water and flood this side of town. We’ll trap them and get everyone in the same place!”

“Good thinking girls!” Kasai encouraged them both. “This way, guys,” he led the way now, helping one of the older lightning masters. “We can still win!”

 

*****

 

Misako, Rose, Tanaka, Raven, Neuro, Garmadon and a handful of others took shelter in the ruins of one of the shops that had been eaten up by the fire. The ice master was taking care of Rose and Taika’s arms while they speculated some more ideas. 

“There, I made it nice and tight so that it won’t come loose, but I’d refrain from trying to move your left arm please, it got pretty ripped up and surely will get infected if exposed.” Tanaka sat back against the wall. “Taika, are you sure you’re fine like that? You’ll rip that open more,” The old woman nodded, peeking through a hole in the wooden slats of the wall. “See anything?”

“We’re safe for now I think.” She coughed up some blood. “I guess we should have never expected it to be so easy. It was my fault I suppose; I should have made sure we took more precautions. Any word from your brother?”

Tanaka shook his head. “No, last I heard he was helping people get to shelter in one of the underground bunkers they have. I hope he and Natalia are okay.”

“What does it matter? We can’t just sit here and hide! Everyone else is risking their asses out there!” Garmadon stood up. “Rose, give Misako your flute, you can’t play it with one hand.” The young woman sighed, handing the object to her cousin. 

Raven started counting on her fingers, “Between all of us, we have five flutes now.”

“I’m getting no response from the other mind masters,” Neuro looked over from his spot behind the remains of a shop counter. “We don’t have a telepathy network anymore so I don’t know what’s going on in the other sections of town!”

“Well, keep trying to get anyone that’s nearby, mind master or not,” Misako urged their friend. “Any one of us that could maybe hear you!”

The mind master lowered his head, shrugging, it was worth a shot.

Moments later Garmadon saw a flood of water dump out into the scorched square followed by a twister, both dumping out dozens and dozens of anacondrai warriors. “Holy shit, it worked! Nice job Neuro, you work fast!”

The young mind master shrugged, accepting the compliment anyways and getting to his feet. 

“We have more injured!” Kasai’s voice came next, finding their way into the others’ little hide out. “Oh thank goodness we found you guys!” 

Raven stood up next, helping the two men to the ground next to Taiko. “I stand corrected; we now have ten flutes-”

“Nine,” Wu corrected, glancing at Edna. “Mine broke as we snuck back into town, I was careless.” The lightning master smiled a bit, appreciative of the little lie he told for her sake. “I wouldn’t have been much help anyways. Do we have a plan though?”

“We use the nine to start what we intended to finish.” Misako stepped out, holding her flute up. “Together we’ll be loud enough I think, we’ll pick up more along the way and the other masters will join us.” She started playing. “Then we’ll march them right out of here and into the desert.” She opened a small map, “The old tomb in the Sea of Sand, remember?” Everyone nodded.

The injured snakes that started waking up immediately fell under the spell of the flutes’ song. Wu watched, not believing it. “It’s actually working.”

The masters guided the enemies through town and as expected, the others that were scattered joined them. Idena, Bolobo, Lila, all the elements that possessed a flute played together, through the gates of Birchwood. 

As all the able bodied masters were walking through the woods, Wu looked off to the right of group when he heard rustling that caught his attention. He tapped his brother’s shoulder. 

“What is it Wu? Little busy right now,” he quietly reminded. “Whatever you have to say can wait I think.”

“No,” he shook his head, slightly nodding his head to the distant tree he noticed the strange movement in. “We’re being watched, this isn’t all of them. Think about it; where’s Arcturus?” He whispered.

Garmadon lowered the instrument and stopped walking now, turning his attention to the tree as well, not so discreetly though. He saw not just Arcturus sitting on the branch, watching them from afar, but a second one with long, skinny neck appear just above him, a bow and arrow in his grip, poised to strike someone. 

“Guys!” Misako looked back, hissing at them for falling behind. “Are you kidding me right now!?”

The two brothers traced his aim and immediately bolted forward. “GET DOWN!” They shouted when the arrow was released. Hearing the warning, Rose immediately spun around, launching her spear at the sniping Anacondrai.

“What the hell!?” Misako coughed when she lifted her head from the ground. Some of the others started to stop and look back. “Keep going!” She shouted at the others, looking back to Garmadon and Wu. “Oh my gosh,” her eyes widened. 

“Aw shit,” Garmadon rolled onto his back. “That’s not pleasant.” He propped himself up on his elbows. “I can’t feel my left leg,” he looked to said limb to find an arrow sticking out of it. “Shit…”

“That’s all that you can say to that!? SHIT?!” Wu started panicking. “That’s your whole damn split open!” He had to look away when blood started dripping from the torn pant leg. 

Misako tossed Wu the flute, “Wu, Rose, take care of them, bring them to the rest of the group,” she propped Garmadon’s head up on her lap. “Once you do that, I’m gonna need some help moving him.” She sighed, shaking her head as the two left. “Why do you have to do this to me?”

“They were aiming for you, what were we supposed to do? Let you get shot?” He looked up at her, reaching back to take her hand. “It’s just my leg, it could have been way worse.”

“You’re right,” she sighed, “We still need to get you to Ninjago City; that looks really bad.”

 

*****

 

“Father?” The long necked Anacondrai hissed, pulling out the sharp spear Rose had thrown their way. “I failed to take out their mastermind like you wanted.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Arcturus opened one eye. “You shouldn’t have bothered with me, now those pesky elementals will get you as well my son.”

The younger snake looked up to see Wu approaching first, looking back down at the general. 

“Regardless of what happens, I don’t want you to forget what they did,” Arcturus went on. “How they beat us by cowardice reliance on those ridiculous flutes.”

“I won’t,” the son lowered his head. “No matter where they lock us up, I will survive; I will return and crush these despicable humans in your name.”

“Yes, good,” the general closed his eyes and smiled. “You will be the greatest of us all… Pythor.”

The general’s son rose up and looked at Wu as he started playing the flute, leading him to join his Anacondrai brethren in their eternal imprisonment.


End file.
